Gabrielle Oliveira, "Now We Are Here: Family Migration, Children’s Education, and Dreams for a Better Life" (Stanford UP, 2025)

In this episode of The New Books Network, host Laura Kelly interviews Gabrielle Oliveira, author of 'Now We Are Here: Family Migration, Children’s Education, and Dreams for a Better Life' (Stanford UP, 2025). Oliveira, a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Brazilian immigrant, shares insights from her three-year ethnographic study of Latin American families—particularly from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Brazil—who experienced U.S. border separation and detention under the 2018–2019 zero tolerance policy. The book centers on how these families, once reunited, resettled in Massachusetts and navigated the challenges of immigration court while enrolling their children in schools. Oliveira explores powerful themes such as 'to migrate is to care' and 'education as the currency of love,' reframing migration not as abandonment but as an act of profound parental love. She introduces the concept of 'pedagogies of silence'—where educators, out of protective concern, avoid discussing students’ traumatic migration experiences in classrooms—advocating instead for safe, creative, and structured ways for children to express their stories. The conversation also delves into rigorous methodological practices, ethical considerations in vulnerable research, and the importance of reciprocity and trust-building. Oliveira concludes by reflecting on how immigration and education policies could be reimagined with children’s well-being at the center. She also previews her current work in northern Brazil, studying bilingual and multicultural education among Venezuelan and Indigenous migrant communities. Key takeaways include: (1) Migration is an act of care, not neglect; (2) Education serves as a form of emotional and cultural currency between parents and children; (3) Educators must create safe spaces for trauma narratives without re-traumatizing students; (4) Ethical research with vulnerable populations requires deep trust-building and anonymity; (5) Policy should prioritize children’s well-being over political or administrative convenience; (6) Creative classroom practices like storytelling and art can help students process trauma; (7) Reciprocity—offering time, translation, and advocacy—should be central to researcher-participant relationships; (8) Children’s voices and experiences must be central to educational and immigration policy discussions.