Luiselli gets a job teaching at Hofstra University (near Manu’s new home), and in her class on conversational Spanish, she begins talking about the migrant crisis. As the weeks go on, the students begin to invest in the issue, some abandoning their previously held beliefs that the migrant is not the United States’ concern. Meanwhile, Manu is having difficulty finding a new school, as the influx of migrant children has led to local school administrations resistant to more enrollees despite the legal requirement to provide free education.

In response to a visiting lecture from Nimmi Gowrinathan about the value of turning emotional capital into political capital, Luiselli’s students decide to use their conversation class time to create a political organization. They plan to help migrant children integrate into the community by providing social and community services that leverage university resources since Nassau County will not or does not provide them. They form the Teenage Immigrant Integration Association—TIIA, a play on the Spanish word for aunt—to provide English and college prep classes, sports, a radio program, and other community services. Luiselli sees that America is a country of many problems, but many people are looking to solve those problems through community action.