Immigration and the Law

Race, Citizenship, and Social Control

Edited by Sofía Espinoza Álvarez and Martin Guevara Urbina

The University of Arizona Press

In the era of globalization, shifting political landscapes, and transnational criminal organizations, discourse around immigration is reaching unprecedented levels. Immigration and the Law is a timely and significant volume of essays that addresses the social, political, and economic contexts of migration in the United States. The contributors analyze the historical and contemporary landscapes of immigration laws, their enforcement, and the discourse surrounding these events, as well as the mechanisms, beliefs, and ideologies that govern them.

In today’s highly charged atmosphere, Immigration and the Law gives readers a grounded and broad overview of U.S. immigration law in a single book. Encompassing issues such as shifting demographics, a changing criminal justice system, and volatile political climate, the book is critically significant for academic, political, legal, and social arenas.

The contributors offer sound evidence to expose the historical legacy of violence, brutality, manipulation, oppression, marginalization, prejudice, discrimination, power, and control. Demystifying the ways that current ideas of ethnicity, race, gender, and class govern immigration and uphold the functioning and legitimacy of the criminal justice system, Immigration and the Law presents a variety of studies and perspectives that offer a pathway toward addressing long-neglected but vital topics in the discourse on immigration and the law.

Contributors

Sofía Espinoza Álvarez
Steven W. Bender
Leo R. Chávez
Arnoldo De León
Daniel Justino Delgado
Roxanne Lynn Doty
Brenda I. Gill
Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz
Peter Laufer
Lupe S. Salinas
Mary C. Sengstock
Martin Guevara Urbina
Claudio G. Vera Sánchez

‘The need for research and statistics-backed evidence to counter widely held myths, misconceptions, and outright racism is greater than ever, making Immigration and the Law a ‘must-have’ for public and college library social issues collections.’—Midwest Book Review

‘This volume will serve as foundational in the study of Latina/o immigration in the twenty-first century. A must-read for scholars in public policy fields.’—Adalberto Aguirre Jr., Professor of Sociology, University of California, Riverside

‘Undoubtedly, this compilation of essays will quickly become one of the most authoritative works on immigration and the law in the United States.’—David V. Baker, author of Women and Capital Punishment in the United States: An Analytical History

Sofía Espinoza Álvarez is the founder and president of Fundación Empower Global, A.C. Álvarez holds a law degree from Universidad de León, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. She co-authored, with Martin Guevara Urbina, Ethnicity and Criminal Justice in the Era of Mass Incarceration: A Critical Reader on the Latino Experience. Martin Guevara Urbina is a professor of criminal justice at Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Latino Police Officers in the United States: An Examination of Emerging Trends and Issues, co-authored with Sofía Espinoza Álvarez.

List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction. U.S. Immigration Laws: The Changing Dynamics of Immigration
Sofía Espinoza Álvarez and Martin Guevara Urbina
1. Beyond the Wall: Race and Immigration Discourse
Arnoldo De León
2. Exposing Immigration Laws: The Legal Contours of Belonging and Exclusion
Steven W. Bender
3. Divided Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control in the United States
Roxanne Lynn Doty
4. Immigration, Illegality, and the Law: Governance, Equality, and Justice
Claudio G. Vera Sánchez
5. Building America: Immigrant Labor and the U.S. Economy
Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz
6. Always Running: La Migra, Detentions, Deportations, and Human Rights
Lupe S. Salinas
7. Challenges to Integration: The Children of Immigrants and Direct and Indirect Experiences with the Law
Leo R. Chávez
8. Borders and Dreams: Immigration, Diversity, and Multiculturalism in the New Millennium
Brenda I. Gill and Mary C. Sengstock
9. Five Myths About Immigration: Immigrant Discourse, Locating White Supremacy, and the Racialization of Latino Immigrants in the United States
Daniel Justino Delgado
10. Covering the Immigrant Story: Immigration Through the Lens of the American Media
Peter Laufer
11. Immigration, Criminalization, and Militarization in the Age of Globalization
Sofía Espinoza Álvarez and Martin Guevara Urbina
Conclusion: Immigration Laws and Social Control Movements: Situating the Realities of Immigration in the Twenty-First Century
Martin Guevara Urbina and Sofía Espinoza Álvarez

Contributors
Index

Related Titles