Constructing Illegality America Daniel Kanstroom Cecilia Menjívar 9781107041592

Constructing Immigrant 'Illegality'Critiques, Experiences, and Responses\nAuthor(s): Cecilia Menjvar, Daniel Kanstroom\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781107041592, 978-1107041592\nSynopsis\nThe topic of 'illegal' immigration has been a major aspect of public discourse in the United States and many other immigrant-receiving countries. From the beginning of its modern invocation in the early twentieth century, the often ill-defined epithet of human 'illegality' has figured prominently in the media; in vigorous public debates at the national, state, and local levels; and in presidential campaigns. In this collection of essays, contributors from a variety of disciplines - anthropology, law, political science, religious studies, and sociology - examine how immigration law shapes immigrant illegality, how the concept of immigrant illegality is deployed and lived, and how its power is wielded and resis.