To begin, I feel the need to state that this book was a little difficult to digest. I realize that I'm supposed to explain whether or not I agree with Joseph Nevins' thesis, but to be honest, I was rather confused as to what that thesis was. The author jumped around a lot, giving the reader detailed background information and history and geography lessons, and yet, he managed to tie everything into the main story of Julio Cesar Gallagos. I think that, perhaps, the extraneous information might have distracted too much from Julio's story, and as a result, I found myself detached and unsure of Nevins' central argument. Basically, I conclude that Nevins is a humanist. I believe the main point of this book is not necessarily about better border control/security or immigration policy. Most likely, I think Nevins is genuinely trying to educate the reader on an ever-prevailing human rights issue, and that's an argument I'm inclined to agree with. Although I have not been directly affected by the tragedy that often goes hand in hand with immigration, I think it is important to mention that I grew up in Southern California. For this reason, I really felt completely absorbed by the book in chapter four, “Juchipila, MexUSA”. Although I've always loved that California is such a melting pot, I'm ashamed to say that many of my friends don't feel the same way. I found that while these people don't consider themselves racist, they disrespect immigrants and fear that "illegal aliens" will take jobs from "white people." Nevins really does a great job explaining the context for the vast majority of Americans, the wrongness of unauthorized migration and the need to prevent it is simply out of the question. The law and its defense become an end in itself” (Nevins, p. 176). I realize that in writing this article I haven't touched much on Julio's actual story or the history and geography that Nevins focuses on in the first two chapters of "Dying To Live." However, I believe it is through some of my personal experiences that I am able to identify and relate to some of the themes in Nevins' book. As I mentioned earlier, I really feel that although this novel is propelled by the tragic story of Julio Cesar Gallagos, Nevins simply wants the reader to recognize the inhumanity and inequality faced by many people have to face. This does not only apply to those, like Julio, who attempted or succeeded in emigrating to America..