Introduction

Recent years have seen migration become increasingly contested and debated, in Europe particularly since the so-called migrant crisis of 2015–2016, and in the United States in relation to the Trump administration 2017–2021. This book is a reaction to the aftermath and ongoing negotiation of both periods, focusing on contemporary writing that examines and addresses experiences of migration in European or American contexts. In addition to analysis of selected texts, this book investigates political narratives of migration that the material addresses and in the context of which the stories emerge. Different discourses surrounding migration also appear in media reviews and reports about the material examined. The introductory chapter addresses the title of the book and the themes examined in the five main chapters and offers a brief discussion of how migration has been theorized an analysed in cultural contexts. The importance of stories is emphasized and how they can be used to argue for a change in how migration is depicted, for greater political and social responsibility particularly in terms of treatment of asylum seekers and undocumented people.