
The Cost of Being Undocumented
One Woman's Reckoning with America's Inhumane Math
Beacon Press
Will be published approx. on 30. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
232 pages
978-0-8070-2439-3 (ISBN)
Description
An undocumented activist and a social scientist come together to tally of the structural costs of undocumented life
An inhumane math pervades this country: even as our government extracts labor and often taxes from undocumented workers, it excludes these same workers from its social safety net. As a result, these essential workers struggle to get their own basic needs met, from healthcare to education, from freedom of association to the ability to drive to work without looking for ICE in the rearview mirror.
When Alix Dick's family found themselves in the crosshairs of cartel violence in Sinaloa, Mexico, she and her siblings were forced to flee to the U.S. Many of the scenes that she shares are difficult and unforgettable: escaping from a relationship in which her partner threatened to report her to immigration; getting root canals done in an underground dental clinic. But there are moments of triumph, too: founding her own nonprofit; working on films that tell important stories; and working with her co-author Dr. Garcia to tell her story in a framework that lays bare the realities of structural oppression.
As Alix and Antero tally the costs of undocumented life, they present a final bill of what is owed to the immigrant community. In this way, their book flips the traditional narrative about the economics of immigration on its head.
An inhumane math pervades this country: even as our government extracts labor and often taxes from undocumented workers, it excludes these same workers from its social safety net. As a result, these essential workers struggle to get their own basic needs met, from healthcare to education, from freedom of association to the ability to drive to work without looking for ICE in the rearview mirror.
When Alix Dick's family found themselves in the crosshairs of cartel violence in Sinaloa, Mexico, she and her siblings were forced to flee to the U.S. Many of the scenes that she shares are difficult and unforgettable: escaping from a relationship in which her partner threatened to report her to immigration; getting root canals done in an underground dental clinic. But there are moments of triumph, too: founding her own nonprofit; working on films that tell important stories; and working with her co-author Dr. Garcia to tell her story in a framework that lays bare the realities of structural oppression.
As Alix and Antero tally the costs of undocumented life, they present a final bill of what is owed to the immigrant community. In this way, their book flips the traditional narrative about the economics of immigration on its head.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Boston, MA
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
367 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8070-2439-3 (9780807024393)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Alix Dick | Antero Garcia
The Cost of Being Undocumented
One Woman's Reckoning with America's Inhumane Math
E-Book
06/2025
Beacon Press
€27.99
Available for download
Persons
Alix Dick is an artist and storyteller living in Los Angeles. Her contributions as a producer and filmmaker have screened at film festivals across the globe. She co-edits the substack La Cuenta, an online publication centering the voices and perspectives of individuals labeled undocumented in the U.S.
Antero Garcia is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and vice president of the National Council of Teachers of English. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books about schooling in America. He co-edits the substack La Cuenta.
Antero Garcia is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and vice president of the National Council of Teachers of English. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books about schooling in America. He co-edits the substack La Cuenta.