Resistance and Abolition in the Borderlands

Confronting Trump's Reign of Terror

Edited by Arturo J. Aldama and Jessica Ordaz; Foreword by Leo R. Chavez; Afterword by Karma R. Chávez

The University of Arizona Press

While there is a long history of state violence toward immigrants in the United States, the essayists in this interdisciplinary collection tackle head-on the impacts of the Trump administration.

This volume provides a well-argued look at the Trump era. Insightful contributions delve into the impact of Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies on migrants detained and returned, immigrant children separated from their parents and placed in detention centers, and migrant women subjected to sexual and reproductive abuses, among other timely topics. The chapter authors document a long list in what the book calls “Trump’s Reign of Terror.”

Organized thematically, the book has four sections: The first gathers histories about the Trump years’ roots in a longer history of anti-migration; the second includes essays on artistic and activist responses on the border during the Trump years; the third critiques the normalization of Trump’s rhetoric and actions in popular media and culture; and the fourth envisions the future.

Resistance and Abolition in the Borderlands is an essential reader for those wishing to understand the extent of the damage caused by the Trump era and its impact on Latinx people.

Contributors
Arturo J. Aldama
Rebecca Avalos
Cynthia Bejarano
Tria Blu Wakpa
Renata Carvalho Barreto
Karma R. Chávez
Leo R. Chavez
Jennifer Cullison
Jasmin Lilian Diab
Allison Glover
Jamila Hammami
Alexandria Herrera
Diana J. Lopez
Sergio A. Macías
Cinthya Martinez
Alexis N. Meza
Roberto A. Mónico
José Enrique Navarro
Jessica Ordaz
Eliseo Ortiz
Kiara Padilla
Leslie Quintanilla
J-M Rivera
Heidy Sarabia
Tina Shull
Nishant Upadhyay
Maria Vargas
Antonio Vásquez

‘Resistance and Abolition in the Borderlands is a book that could not have been produced earlier. It is not the shocked outrage of books that appeared during the Trump administration, but the measured, scholarly, and timely musings about the Trump era’s impact that could only be produced with some distance and perspective. This is a must-read volume for anyone trying to understand the current state of American culture and politics.’
—Robert Con Davis-Undiano, author of Mestizos Come Home!: Making and Claiming Mexican American Identity

‘The editors and contributors of this volume weave a generative pathway through incredibly difficult issues that we will continue to deal with for years to come. This timely and comprehensive collection balances the horrors of political cruelty with the hope and determination of the human spirit.’—Domino Renee Perez, author of Fatherhood in the Borderlands: A Daughter’s Slow Approach

‘This book is well documented by extensive footnotes and citations. Editors call for an end to the detention and deportation regime and the carceral state, and make a call for research agendas and political activism that embrace the abolition of borders and bordering. Highly recommended.’—I. Coronado, CHOICE Connect

Arturo J. Aldama is chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies at University of Colorado Boulder. He is the author of many books, including Decolonizing Latinx Masculinities, which won runner-up to best nonfiction in Empowering Latino Futures. He serves as co-editor for the book series Latinx Pop Culture with the University of Arizona Press.

Jessica Ordaz is an assistant professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is the author of The Shadow of El Centro: A History of Migrant Incarceration and Solidarity.

Foreword by Leo R. Chavez
Introduction: Terror, Trauma, and Resistance in the U.S./México Borderlands
Arturo Aldama and Jessica Ordaz

Part I. Xenophobia, Abjection, and State Violence
1. “They’re Bringing Drugs!”: Reflections on Movement and Migration, the War on Drugs, and the Opioid Crisis in Trump’s America
Rebecca Avalos
2. Separating and Caging Immigrant Families: Case Studies in South Texas from the Postwar Era Through Trump’s Reign of Terror
Jennifer Cullison
3. Human Trafficking and the Politics of State Violence Through Operation Lone Star
Antonio Vásquez
4. The Uterus Collectors: The Lineage of Hemispheric Medical Abuse and Experimentation in the United States and Guatemala
Alexandria Herrera
5. Reflections on Right-Wing Leadership in the United States: From LAPD Chief William Parker to Donald Trump
Roberto A. Mónico
6. Refugees and Human Rights Law During the Trump Administration
Jasmin Lilian Diab

Part II. Performing the Borderlands: Visual Arts, Music, Dance, and Community Resistance(s)
7. No Están Solxs: Mourning Migrant Suffering and Death Through Commemorative Art at the U.S.///Mexico Border
Alexis N. Meza and Leslie Quintanilla
8. “American” Incarceration: Dances That Critique Confinement and Contribute to Prison Abolitionist Possibilities
Tria Blu Wakpa
9. Museum at the Border
Eliseo Ortiz
10. Canto y Oración in Juan Gabriel’s “Amor Eterno”: A Latin@/x Refusal to Forget Lives Lost to State-Sanctioned Violence
Kiara Padilla

Part III. The Media and Popular Culture
11. Americana White Plight: Bolsotrumpism and the Linear Desire for Westernness
Renata Carvalho Barreto
12. Trump’s Hermeneutics of the Ass: Anal Theory, Gaping Holes, and Backdoor Approaches to the U.S.-Mexico Border
Sergio A. Macías
13. The Dehumanizing Framing of Central American and Mexican Children and Youth Seeking Refuge in the United States
Maria Vargas and Heidy Sarabia
14. Migrant Children and the Carceral State in the Comic Book Home
José Enrique Navarro
15. I’m the Shooter
J-M Rivera

Part IV. Resistance and Abolitionist Dreams
16. Sexual Terror and the Prison/Border Archive: Theorizing a Feminist Abolition Praxis of Migrant Detention
Cinthya Martinez
17. Trump’s Bellicose Border Wall and the Hateful Rhetoric and Violence It Inspires in the Paso del Norte Region
Cynthia Bejarano and Diana J. López
18. White Supremacy and Migrant Advocacy at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Allison Glover
19. “Free Them All”: A Conversation on Trans Abolitionist Visions with Jordan Garcia
Nishant Upadhyay
20. Resistance Archiving: Reflections on the IMM Print Detention Stories Project
Tina Shull and Jamila Hammami

Afterword by Karma R. Chávez
Contributors
Index

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