Illegality in the Heartland : Latinidad, Indigeneity, and Immigration Policies During Times of Hate.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gómez Cervantes, Andrea.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (330 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 2025.

Summary:

Drawing on in-depth interviews and ethnographic participant observation, Illegality in the Heartland interrogates existing understandings of illegality and Latinidad by centering the voices and experiences of Indigenous and mestizo Latino immigrants in the American heartland during the first Trump administration, a distinct era of political uncertainty. Immigration policies and political narratives have long tied those suspected of being "illegal" to perceptions of Mexican origin and stereotypes associated with Hispanics more broadly. Likewise, Latin American immigrants in the United States have been positioned as a single group, thereby collapsing ethnoracial distinctions under the umbrella identities of Hispanic, Latina/o, or Latinx/e. Andrea Gómez Cervantes examines these ethnoracial divides among Latino immigrants as they seek to navigate life and make Kansas their home while undocumented. This work shines a crucial light on how immigration laws, racialization, and gender mechanisms intersect in spaces where immigrants are not yet an established part of the public imaginary--even as they make essential contributions to their communities and mobilize as increasingly influential constituents in their own right.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

List of Figures

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. "Venimos por necesidad": Migrating North

2. "Un ambiente hostil": Kansas during Trump's First Presidency

3. "Aguantando sin papeles": Life without Papers

4. "No vine a aprender inglés": Language in the Community and at Home

5. "Tal vez un día me puedo arreglar": Hopes and Worries

6. "Voy a salir adelante": Strategies to Get Ahead

Conclusion

Appendix: Lessons Learned from a Mexicana Scholar

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-520-39390-2

9780520393905

OCLC:

1546969635