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9781479807390

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For decades, punitive federal immigration policy, rising interior enforcement, and a social welfare system that treats health care as a consumer good has wielded 'medical legal violence' onto the lives of Latinx immigrants. In this timely book, Van Natta deftly shows how the situation became even worse after 2016, as both immigrants and the mission-driven safety-net clinicians and staff working to treat them faced new and uncertain 'decision-scapes' in accessing treatment. The results--more people blocked from and foregoing care, more people forced to let their illness progress to the point of acute and costly emergency care, and more providers torn between their personal and medical ethics and the US laws and bureaucracies that prioritize insecurity over health--are no less than a national disaster.-- Helen B. Marrow, author of New Destination Dreaming Immigration, Race, and Legal Status in the Rural American South This insightful, accessible ethnography reveals the broad and deep reach of the punitive immigration regime, which enlists even the medical personnel whose goal is to heal people. It is an excellent contribution to several fields and will be read widely.-- Cecilia Menjivar, author of Enduring Violence: Ladina Women's Lives in Guatemala Comparing immigrant-serving clinics across red, blue, and purple states, Meredith Van Natta captures with clarity and conviction the urgency of reforming both the US medical and immigration policy landscapes. Her careful analysis is both striking and humanizing, as she tells the stories of health care providers' and patients' heartache, fear, persistence, and triumph during critical political moments during the Obama and Trump eras. Medical Legal Violence is a must-read for anyone interested in immigration and health care policy in the United States.-- Leisy J. Abrego, author of Sacrificing Families: Navigating Laws, Labor, and Love Across Borders This vividly written book tells the painful story of how US anti-immigrant policies have permeated the nation's medical system, making it increasingly difficult to meet the health care needs of an impoverished population who often lack English fluency and legal documentation. Rich in ethnographic and environmental detail, Medical Legal Violence highlights the political struggles between two broken systems in need of reform--health care and immigration--and the chilling effects this battle has on the health outcomes and well-being of migrants. An invaluable resource for public officials, as well as academics, Van Natta's work powerfully addresses the dire health care needs of our most vulnerable yet essential members in our society.-- Jacqueline Hagan, author of Migration Miracle: Faith, Hope, and Meaning on the Undocumented Journey

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Meredith Van Natta is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Merced.

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