OUR BECKONING BORDERS

A balanced, factual discussion of the problem of illegal immigration to the US, in which Ashabranner (Still a Nation of Immigrants, 1993, etc.) focuses primarily on the Mexican border. The emphasis is warranted: A far greater number of illegals enter the US from Mexico than from Canada, and they enter not as individuals but in groups of up to 100 people. Ashabranner makes clear that this steady stream of people is a problem, calculating that California shoulders a cost for services to illegals that approaches $2 billion a year. He also puts illegal immigration in perspective, pointing out that other nations deal with refugees and those seeking opportunities unavailable in their native lands and that the number of newcomers to the US is not overwhelming. Included are stories of illegal immigrants, information about border guards, and the federal policy under which they do so. Ashabranner's comments about youthful illegals will be of particular interest to young readers; his is a levelheaded approach to an incendiary topic at a compact length. (b&w photos, not seen, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10+)