Migrating to Prison

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A powerful, in-depth look at the imprisonment of immigrants, addressing the intersection of immigration and the criminal justice system, with a new preface by the author

For most of America's history, we simply did not lock people up for migrating here. Yet over the last thirty years, the federal and state governments have increasingly tapped their powers to incarcerate people accused of violating immigration laws. As a result, almost 400,000 people annually now spend some time locked up pending the result of a civil or criminal immigration proceeding.

Called a "fierce critique" (Publishers Weekly), "a chilling, timely overview" (Kirkus Reviews), and "a passionate and credible treatise" (Shelf Awareness), Migrating to Prison takes a hard look at the immigration prison system's origins, how it currently operates, and why. A leading voice for immigration reform, C sar Cuauht moc Garc a Hern ndez explores the emergence of immigration imprisonment in the mid-1980s, with enforcement resources deployed disproportionately against Latinos, and looks at both the outsized presence of private prisons and how those on the political right continue, disingenuously, to link immigration imprisonment with national security risks and threats to the rule of law.

Praised as "persuasive" (Baffler) and "thought-provoking" (Library Journal) and with a new preface that brings it into the Biden administration, Migrating to Prison is an urgent call for the abolition of immigration prisons and a radical reimagining of who belongs in the United States.