Free radical: A Wknd interview with immigrant-rights warrior Saket Soni

Soni spent years as an undocumented immigrant, then became a labour organiser. He is now the author of a taut true-life thriller about a human-trafficking scam.

In 2006, on his 29th birthday, Saket Soni’s life took a sudden turn, with a phone call. On the other end of the line was a terrified man who said he had been cheated, held against his will, and just wanted to return home to India.

Soni’s book, The Great Escape, is about a racket he busted, helping 500 Indians escape from a labour camp in the US that was ringed by barbed wire, overseen by guards.

This was in November, a few months after Hurricane Katrina struck in August, and Soni was working as a labour organiser in New Orleans. As he investigated the details the caller gave him, he