A captivating photographic portrait of the diverse experiences of immigrants in the United States, depicting the resilience and realities of building a home in a new place. Disturbed by the increasingly hostile views of immigrants that arose in the United States during the 2016 presidential election, photographer Colin Boyd Shafer set out on a road trip to meet hundreds of families and individuals with roots abroad who now live in America. The result, after a year of travel covering fifty thousand miles, is this collection of striking photos and moving stories that form a portrait of the nation’s complex and shifting relationship to immigration. Some of the participants chose to make America home; others were displaced by crises. Some were warmly welcomed and granted citizenship; others battled the immigration system for years and still live with fear and uncertainty. Their circumstances and origins vary, but all are united by a willingness to share their stories—of harrowing journeys, intense love, separated families, passionate activism—in hopes of adding nuance and depth to a vital issue that continues to polarize Americans.

In an era when immigration on a global scale defines the fears and aspirations of Americans, Restoring America's Dignity presents the complexities of migration through the stories of families fleeing violence and poverty, the government and nongovernmental organizations helping or hindering their progress, and the American communities receiving them. Ali Noorani, who has spent years building bridges between immigrants and their often conservative communities, takes readers along to Honduras, Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, and Texas, meeting migrants and the organizations and people that help them on both sides of the border, reporting from the inside on why families make the heart-wrenching decision to leave home. Going beyond the polemical, partisan debate, Noorani offers sensitive insights and real solutions. Urgently needed, Restoring America's Dignity will appeal to a broad audience of concerned citizens across the political spectrum, faith communities, policymakers, and immigrants themselves.