Humanizing Immigration

August 1, 2023
A professor of immigration law with five decades of experience offers some fixes for a broken system. Arguing from the outset that U.S. immigration laws are fundamentally racist and unjust, Hing, the author of Deporting Our Souls and American Presidents, Deportations, and Human Rights Violations: From Carter to Trump, presents ample evidence of their sometimes Kafkaesque, frequently wantonly cruel applications. In service of his argument, he looks at five different types of immigration dysfunction, illustrating each with stories of individuals affected. He leads with the detention of minors at the southern border, plunging readers into the shocking conditions endured by children, some as young as toddlers, held for days in overcrowded rooms and given insufficient nutrition. He then turns to the deportation of permanent residents for aggravated felony convictions, a category of infractions that includes crimes U.S. citizens experience as misdemeanors; the inconsistency--all too often based in racism--of application of prosecutorial discretion; the difficulties faced by asylum seekers; and the general chaos of the immigration court system. Throughout, Hing writes with emotion but moves back and forth smoothly between human stories and legal ones, ensuring that lay readers have the context necessary to understand how the latter affect the former. Within each discussion of specific immigration topics, the author suggests concrete reforms, such as applying reasonable proportionality to the cases of noncitizens accused of crimes. He doesn't stop there, however; his eyes are on a bigger prize: "I count myself among those who call for the abolition of the immigration system altogether. Migrants should have the right to free movement across borders and the right to live free of harassment over immigration status. Our system must be transformed into one that prioritizes our humanity first." By the time they finish the concluding capsule history of U.S. immigration policy's structural racism, many readers will agree with him. A powerful, cogent indictment.

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September 15, 2023
Few would argue that the U.S. immigration system isn't broken. As a longtime immigration lawyer and the founding director of San Francisco's Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic, Hing (American Presidents, Deportation and Human Rights Violations, 2018) goes further, arguing that nothing short of abolishing the system will suffice. This book shares personal stories of Hing's clients to illustrate the caprice and cruelty that decide the fates of thousands of immigrants and would-be immigrants every year. Hing does not confine his argument to cases whose central figures conform to the "good immigrant" stereotype, but instead welcomes readers to recognize the full humanity of immigrants with troubled pasts or criminal records. As a nation, he argues, we should aim for consistent, compassionate policy rather than allowing the continuation of a system governed by prejudice, timing, and judicial and prosecutorial whim. An appendix to the book offers a brief historical overview that emphasizes the racist foundations behind U.S. immigration policy. Humanizing Immigration is a stirring call to action, urging readers to act from a place of empathy, not fear.

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Starred review from October 23, 2023

Hing (immigration law, policy, and migration studies, Univ. of San Francisco; American Presidents, Deportation, and Human Rights Violations: From Carter to Trump) directs San Francisco's Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic. His latest book is a groundbreaking title about the intersectionality between racial justice and immigrant rights in the United States. He closely examines the historical treatment of many undocumented people originally from Africa and Central America, and he utilizes his extensive knowledge to describe the legal problems they face as they get caught up in underfunded immigration courts, appeals offices, and detention centers. He documents the heart-wrenching firsthand accounts of many individuals and families of undocumented immigrants who have been working and contributing to the nation (whether via taxes or labor) but have fallen under the watchful eye of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. With the volatile political crises raging around the world and a looming climate catastrophe, many more individuals and families are currently or soon will be seeking political asylum in the U.S. VERDICT A timely title that humanizes immigration and offers readers a deep understanding of the processes involved in seeking asylum and fighting deportation. It also clearly and expertly shows how specific enforced laws contribute to institutional racism.--Amy Lewontin

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