Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park August 27

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley will visit Third Place Books Lake Forest Park on Tuesday, August 27 at 7pm, as part of the tour for his new book, America is Better Than This.

Few had witnessed what Merkley discovered just by showing up at the border and demanding to see what was going on behind closed doors. 

Contrary to the official stories and soothing videos, he found mothers and children, newborn babies and infants, stranded for days on border bridges in blistering heat or locked up in ice-cold holding pens. 

There were nearly 1,500 boys jammed into a former Walmart, a child tent prison in the desert with almost 3,000 boys and girls, and children struggling to survive in gang-filled Mexican border towns after they were blocked from seeking asylum in the United States. 

Worst of all, there were the children ripped out of their parents' arms and sorted into cages in some profoundly warped attempt to discourage migration.

America Is Better Than This tells the inside story of how one senator, with no background as an immigration activist, became a leading advocate for reform of the brutal policies that have created a humanitarian crisis on the southern U.S. border. It represents the heartfelt and candid voice of a concerned American who believes his country stands for something far bigger and better.

Jeff Merkley is a senator from Oregon, serving in the US Senate since 2009.

Two tickets to this event are available with each pre-order of America is Better Than This. The book will be published on Tuesday, August 20, and can be pre-ordered at thirdplacebooks.com.

Third Place Books Lake Forest Park is located at 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA, 98155.