Library Collections

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen

The movement of people--what Americans call 'immigration' and the rest of the world calls 'migration'--is among the defining issues of our time. Technology and information crosses countries and continents at blistering speed. Corporations thrive on being multinational and polyglot. Yet the world's estimated 244 million total migrant population, particularly those deemed 'illegal' by countries and societies, are locked in a chaotic and circular debate about borders and documents, assimilation and identity. An issue about movement seems immovable: politically, culturally and personally. Dear America: Notes Of An Undocumented Citizen is an urgent, provocative and deeply personal account from Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who happens to be the most well-known undocumented immigrant in the United States. Born in the Philippines and brought to the U.S. illegally as a 12-year-old, Vargas hid in plain-sight for years, writing for some of the most prestigious news organizations in the country (The Washington Post, The New Yorker) while lying about where he came from and how he got here. After publicly admitting his undocumented status--risking his career and personal safety--Vargas has challenged the definition of what it means to be an American, and has advocated for the human rights of immigrants and migrants during the largest global movement of people in modern history. Both a letter to America and a window into Vargas's America, this book is a transformative argument about migration and citizenship, and an intimate, searing exploration on what it means to be home when the country you call your home doesn't consider you one of its own.

American by Birth: Wong Kim Ark and the Battle for Citizenship

American by Birth: Wong Kim Ark and the Battle for Citizenship

In his infamous opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) Chief Justice Taney had denied that any American descended from Africans, whether free or slave, could claim citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment's citizenship clause repudiated this principle. The Fourteenth Amendment's connection to birthright citizenship, however, is not built exclusively through the lives and fortunes of black citizens. It requires an understanding of the Chinese experience of migration to the United States, and Wong Kim Ark v. United States (1898) lies at the center of this story. Wong Kim Ark, a man in his mid-twenties who had been born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, was refused entry into the United States upon returning from a visit to China. By 1898, the strict policy forbidding most Chinese from entering the United States was well established, and Wong Kim Ark did not claim to fall into one of the narrow exceptional categories like merchant, diplomat, or student. Rather, he claimed that his birth in San Francisco rendered him a citizen. By a vote of six to two, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed. The landmark case established the principle that jus soli (geographically defined birthright citizenship) extended even to the children of US residents who were themselves barred from naturalization on racial grounds. In recent years, birthright citizenship in the United States has provoked renewed controversy. In a political moment when Americans are deeply divided over immigration, there is a special need to understand anew the history behind the longstanding principle that even the children of undocumented immigrants are citizens when they are born in the United States.

Your Path to English Proficiency Starts Here

The Adult Basic Reading and Literacy materials address the needs of English learners and TEFL/TESOL teachers. The Ferguson Library offers variety of books and audio-visual materials for English Language learners.
The collection focuses on materials for general reader, including:

Color coding key that reads "Books for English Language Learners: Dictionary, Vocabulary, Language Activities, Life Skills, Conversations, Speaking, Grammar, Easy Reading (Fiction and Nonfiction), Teaching Materials"
  • American and English classics
  • Dictionaries
  • Contemporary books that help improve reading comprehension
  • Wide selection of books on different subjects, including math, health, jobs, citizenship, etc.

The books and audio materials are located on the 3rd floor. DVDs are located in the lower level.

For easy access we divided this collection by smaller categories. Each category is color coded, and the legend with category names and the corresponding color dots is located next to the collection on the 3rd floor.

  • Dictionaries/Vocabulary – orange dot
  • Language Activities / Life Skills – green dot
  • Conversations/ Speaking – hot pink dot
  • Grammar/Writing/Composition – yellow lime dot
  • Easy Reading (Fiction & Nonfiction) – dark blue dot
  • Teaching Materials – purple dot

Search and Browse

All books are tagged by the categories, and you can find which section they belong if you look at the tags while you have the record in the screen.

Tags are hyperlinked and by clicking on them, you will be able to find other books in the category.

Tags for categories:

  • ell – language activities – life skills
  • ell – dictionaries – vocabulary
  • ell conversations
  • ell – grammar
  • ell – easy reading
  • ell – teaching materials

To conduct keyword search, type “ell – grammar”. To browse, type “ell” to see all the books in ABR collection and then you can browse either by category or by the title/author.
If you are looking for particular book, type the title or author and then check the record for a community tag, to see which category this book belongs to.

Tags catalog screenshot
Tags catalog screenshot