With fear and apprehension still hanging over the country like a dense fog, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 continue to impact the American public. Innocent people wanting to immigrate to the United States have been turned away due to racial profiling and the fear of additional attacks. The Department of Homeland Security was developed in response to the events of 9/11, but Americans remain on high alert. For one immigrant family, lack of communication between this government agency and the FBI created a nightmare. In his book America Hates Me But I Still Love Her!, author Umut Ozturk tells their story.

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Umut Ozturk immigrated to the United States with his family in 1990 at the age of twelve. His father participated in the U.S. Air Force and Turkish Air Force exchange program, and the family settled in Biloxi, Mississippi. Years later, while trying to qualify for financial aid in order to attend law school, Umut applied for permanent U.S. residency. That fateful action brought the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to his family’s doorstep, changing their lives irrevocably.

The Ozturk family was forced into the beginning stages of the deportation process even though the INS granted Umut’s request for residency. Today, the Ozturk family is in the midst of their third appeal. Unless this appeal is successful, everyone in the family, with the exception of Umut and his younger American-born sister, will be deported, effectively tearing the family apart. Even though Umut’s personal request for U.S. residency was approved, he has yet to receive his green card due to his family’s ongoing court battle. Ironically, Ozturk’s father received a commendation from the FBI for his years of public service AFTER the family lost their initial case and appeal!

America Hates Me But I Still Love Her! reveals a new racism against immigrants that has become increasingly prevalent throughout the "land of the free and the home of the brave." Ozturk’s compelling prose and easy-to-read style will instantly draw the reader into his tragic and all-too-true story.

Umut Ozturk was born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1977. He moved to the United States in 1990 at the age of twelve. He graduated from Biloxi High School in 1995 and received his B.A. in Speech Communications from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2000.