Immigration and Identity, Borders and Bridges: Francisco Cantú Discusses His Memoir

Francisco Cantú, a Mexican-American raised in the scrublands of the Southwest, joined the U.S. Border Patrol in 2008. He spent the next four years hauling in the bodies of dead immigrants and delivering to detention centers those he found alive. Cantú left the Border Patrol in 2012 and began a journey of his own, culminating in his highly acclaimed 2018 memoir, The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border.

Disputes over immigration have only intensified as the presidential election approaches, and issues of racism and national identity are playing out around the country. More than ever, the personal is political, and Cantú’s memoir is a powerful testimony to understanding this national moment. During this event, Cantú will discuss his own story, the process of writing a memoir, and his take on the ongoing immigration debate.

Glenn Hendler, a professor of English and American studies at Fordham, will moderate the conversation, and Cantú will take questions from the students in a class Hendler is co-teaching with Fordham’s Writer at Risk in Residence, Félix Kaputu, titled “Creating Dangerously: Writing from Conflict Zones.” Other Fordham students and our online audience will also be able to pose questions using the chat feature. David Gibson, director of Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture, will open and close the event, as well as help field audience questions.