Book Talk: Behind Crimmigation by Felicia Arriaga
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, October 19, 2023, 5-6:30pm: Book Talk: Behind Crimmigation by Felicia Arriaga
“Book Summary: In recent years, dozens of counties in North Carolina have partnered with federal law enforcement to criminalize immigration—what many have dubbed ‘crimmigration.’ Southern border enforcement still monopolizes the national immigration debate, but immigration enforcement has also become common within the United States. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations are a significant part of American immigration enforcement, Felicia Arriaga maintains that ICE relies on an already well-established system—local law enforcement and local governments to identify, incarcerate, and deport undocumented immigrants.
“Arriaga contends that the long-term partnership between local sheriffs and immigration law enforcement in places like North Carolina has created racialized social control in the Latinx community. Arriaga uses data from five county sheriff’s offices and their governing bodies to trace the creation and subsequent normalization of ICE and local law enforcement partnerships. Arriaga argues that the methods these partnerships use to control immigration are employed throughout the United States. Still, they have been evident in North Carolina, where the Latinx population increased by 111 percent between 2000 and 2010. Arriaga's evidence also reveals how Latinx communities resist and adapt to these systems.
“Bio: Felicia Arriaga (Ph.D. in Sociology from Duke University) is an assistant professor in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College. Her research focuses on race and ethnicity, immigration, and crimmigration (criminalization of immigration policy and procedure), aka La Polimigra. As a public sociologist, she highlights the intersection of criminal justice accountability, transparency, reform, and abolition. In her groundbreaking book, Behind Crimmigration: ICE, Law Enforcement, and Resistance in America, Felicia sheds light on the impact of federal immigration enforcement programs, revealing the collaboration between local law enforcement and immigration authorities in the burgeoning immigrant haven of North Carolina.”
Register here.
Additional reading:
Behind Crimmigration: Ice, Law Enforcement, and Resistance in America by Felicia Arriaga on bookshop.org
Malaprop’s Bookstore and Cafe, June 27, 2023: Behind Crimmigration with Felicia Arriaga
