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27 reviews for:
Migrating to Prison: America's Obsession With Locking Up Immigrants
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández
4.19 AVERAGE
27 reviews for:
Migrating to Prison: America's Obsession With Locking Up Immigrants
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández
4.19 AVERAGE
bookvibra's review against another edition
3.0
Author provides a very detailed and intriguing history of immigration, discussing its origins in America dating all the way back to slaver and continuing through Ellis island and Angel Island. As the conversation shifted to more contemporary issues and future reform I would have liked to see the author dig deeper and provide more in-depth analysis.
jerdylunes's review against another edition
5.0
“Despite the common refrain that immigration law is ‘broken’, immigration imprisonment is a sign that the United States immigration policy is working exactly as designed. The system hasn’t malfunctioned. It was intended to punish, stigmatize, and marginalize - all for political and financial gain.”
Over the years I have come to learn that most Americans do not and never will (completely) understand the ins and outs of their own immigration system. One could ask “but why would they need to?”, but in a country where immigration is a polarized topic, often either viewed in white or black, a topic that politicians use to win elections, it IS important that the citizens in this country really understand what their policies are. Migrating to Prison is in my opinion a must read for everyone in order to understand how we got to where we are.
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández provides us with an examination of immigrant detention history in the US and how it has evolved into a multi-billion dollar prison industry, evolving along the same parallels as mass incarceration has in this country. In addition to the evolution of migration detention, and immigration policies, the author provides us with ways to effectively fight the policies that incarcerate immigrants for no other reason than they are immigrants, by cutting them off from the root. There are some very helpful points for those of us fighting for the abolition of prisons in general.
“The immigration prison is a reminder that human bondage based on racial and economic markers of undesirability can’t be relegated to some distant past. If we’re willing to lock up people, we will find a reason. Most of the time the targets will be people of color. We can call this a coincidence, but we would be lying to ourselves.”
I personally found the chapter entitled “The Good Immigrant vs. The Bad Immigrant” particularly important - politicians’ rhetoric tends to balance the “good ones” against “all the others”, a rhetoric that has become truth for most people discussing immigration in the US. The thing is, as I mentioned above, most people don’t understand how the immigration process actually works in the US, and that, coupled with the fact that no human being is perfect, creates this ridiculous perception that an immigrant must be a perfect human being in order to be allowed to reside on US soil. I have lost count of the times that someone has said “oh but you are one of the good ones!” to me - like it’s a compliment. No, I’m not “good”, I just have certain privileges to thank for the fact that I avoided deportation. (And my immigration story has been fraught with fear and lasted years and years before I was granted any kind of safe status). And I am human and have made enough mistakes that could easily have changed my story. So I’m glad the author brought this up, because this rhetoric is extremely harmful, and has been used by politicians on all sides on a regular basis, even if some presidents were less vulgar in their wording than others.
All in all this is a very important book to read and I recommend it to everyone. Thank you César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández for the very important work that you have done for us all.
(Side note: I am constantly in awe of the great work published by The New Press - if you haven’t heard of them I highly suggest checking out their publications).
Over the years I have come to learn that most Americans do not and never will (completely) understand the ins and outs of their own immigration system. One could ask “but why would they need to?”, but in a country where immigration is a polarized topic, often either viewed in white or black, a topic that politicians use to win elections, it IS important that the citizens in this country really understand what their policies are. Migrating to Prison is in my opinion a must read for everyone in order to understand how we got to where we are.
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández provides us with an examination of immigrant detention history in the US and how it has evolved into a multi-billion dollar prison industry, evolving along the same parallels as mass incarceration has in this country. In addition to the evolution of migration detention, and immigration policies, the author provides us with ways to effectively fight the policies that incarcerate immigrants for no other reason than they are immigrants, by cutting them off from the root. There are some very helpful points for those of us fighting for the abolition of prisons in general.
“The immigration prison is a reminder that human bondage based on racial and economic markers of undesirability can’t be relegated to some distant past. If we’re willing to lock up people, we will find a reason. Most of the time the targets will be people of color. We can call this a coincidence, but we would be lying to ourselves.”
I personally found the chapter entitled “The Good Immigrant vs. The Bad Immigrant” particularly important - politicians’ rhetoric tends to balance the “good ones” against “all the others”, a rhetoric that has become truth for most people discussing immigration in the US. The thing is, as I mentioned above, most people don’t understand how the immigration process actually works in the US, and that, coupled with the fact that no human being is perfect, creates this ridiculous perception that an immigrant must be a perfect human being in order to be allowed to reside on US soil. I have lost count of the times that someone has said “oh but you are one of the good ones!” to me - like it’s a compliment. No, I’m not “good”, I just have certain privileges to thank for the fact that I avoided deportation. (And my immigration story has been fraught with fear and lasted years and years before I was granted any kind of safe status). And I am human and have made enough mistakes that could easily have changed my story. So I’m glad the author brought this up, because this rhetoric is extremely harmful, and has been used by politicians on all sides on a regular basis, even if some presidents were less vulgar in their wording than others.
All in all this is a very important book to read and I recommend it to everyone. Thank you César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández for the very important work that you have done for us all.
(Side note: I am constantly in awe of the great work published by The New Press - if you haven’t heard of them I highly suggest checking out their publications).
stephirene's review against another edition
5.0
Truly an excellent book. I think every America needs to read this because if you invest in a 401k or a 403b you most likely are making money off the misery of others. Also, the opportunities your familiy members had when they migrated to this country are most likely very different than what is currently happening today. This book reviews the history of our country and the racist ways we have set up the immigration system into a detention/prison industrial complex. And in many ways, that still function much the same way they did over 170 years ago. I am motivated to work to destroy the dentention system we currently have for so many reasons and this book gave me even more ways to do just that!
roobydooby_boo_k's review against another edition
5.0
v good and informative. such a good little free library find
historyofjess's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
García Hernández conveys the brutal history and present of imprisoning immigrants in the U.S. Despite being five years old, it's as a relevant as ever and paired well with Inventing Latinos to understand the history the U.S.'s influence on Latin American countries, which follows to the mass migration of Latinx folks migrating to this country, only to be treated as subhuman. It's not an easy read, but it's important to face.
whatcandicereads's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. What an in depth and phenomenal review about immigration detention and its place within the prison industrial complex. In conversation and many readings, folks have a tendency to separate migrant detention from that of prisons and local jails, but the author reminds us of the inexplicable link — confinement and despair under the guise of “justice.” Migrating to Prison has been on my reading list for over a year, but I’m glad I finally made time to dive in. From exploring personal narratives and uplifting migrant voices to analyzing the profit industry, historical origins, and ending with a vision of complete abolition, this is essential reading for those interested in present day immigration/criminal legal system issues. It’s informative and beneficial to all who choose to dive in.