Not since the Civil War has America been so divided over such a seemingly unsolvable issue as U.S. immigration policy. Phoenix has become the number 2 kidnap capital of the world, ranchers and police officers in border states are being killed by drug runners from Mexico, and the federal government refuses to enforce its own immigration law. Why are 20 million people disregarding America's sovereign borders and laws to come to this country? Darrell Ankarlo follows the lives of several Mexican citizens as they contemplate their existence south of the border, their temptation to sneak into America, and what waits for them here. To understand the issue first-hand, Ankarlo stared down gun barrels, was caught in the middle of a drug-lord showdown, and then wandered the Arizona desert after illegally sneaking back into America. Illegals explores issues raised by these personal stories and offers perspectives-often contradictory-from U.S. citizens.