Efrén C. Olivares

Tere Garcia

Efrén C. Olivares is the Deputy Legal Director of the Immigrant Justice Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center. He was the lead lawyer in a successful landmark petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of families separated under the Zero Tolerance policy. He previously directed the Racial and Economic Justice Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project. His writings on immigration law and policy have appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, and Newsweek, and he has testified before Congress about immigration and border policies. Part of his work representing separated families was featured in the 2019 CBS News Documentary "The Faces of Family Separation."

Olivares was the first member of his family to attend college. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Law School. His book is "My Boy Will Die of Sorrow: A Memoir of Immigration from the Front Lines."

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Communities: Hispanic or Latinx, Immigrant, first book

Survival and Redemption

Keith Corbin, Jean Guerrero and Efren Olivares have come to the festival with stories exploring how personal challenges -- family separation, gangs, crime or the lack of a support system -- shape the person they became.

Koffler Room 218 (Seats 142, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 4, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - UA BookStore Tent (on Mall) (following presentation)  

Panelists: Keith Corbin, Jean Guerrero, Efrén Olivares
Moderator: Maurice Goldman

Finding Home, Keeping Friends

Reaching deep into their souls, these authors today will recount their journeys to hope and opportunity, courage and tenacity, surviving and thriving.

Integrated Learning Center Room 120 (Seats 300, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 4, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)  

Panelists: David Ambroz, Efrén Olivares, Will Schwalbe
Moderator: Laura Penny

Race Against Racism

"Democracy in Color" is the theme of a podcast by Steve Phillips. The struggle for equality is also central in "They Call Me George Floyd" by Efren Olivares and Toluse Olorunnipa. Today, the three authors will discuss the struggle for real racial equality in the United States. Will we ever be true to our own Pledge of Allegiance, which promises "liberty and justice for all?"

Student Union Gallagher Theater (Seats 337)  
Sun, Mar 5, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Current Issues / Politics / Social Science
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - UA BookStore Tent (on Mall) (following presentation)  

Panelists: Efrén Olivares, Toluse Olorunnipa, Steve Phillips
Moderator: Lori Poloni-Staudinger

Book:

My Boy Will Die of Sorrow

A Memoir of Immigration from the Front Lines
Current Issues / Politics / Social Science
Hachette Books
January 2022
ISBN 9780306847288
320 pages