Immigration and American Democracy: Subverting the Rule of Law

Author:   Robert Koulish
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN:  

9780415996181


Pages:   240
Publication Date:   14 December 2009
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Immigration and American Democracy: Subverting the Rule of Law


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Overview

While the idea of immigration embodies America's rhetorical commitment to democracy, recent immigration control policies also showcase abysmal failures in democratic practice. Immigration and American Democracy examines these failures in terms of state sovereignty, neoliberalism, and surveillance-based techniques of social control. The ideological argument for privatization is not new. But immigration has provided a laboratory for replicating on American soil the sorts of outsourcing travesties that have occurred in America's war in Iraq. As an outcome, abusive executive powers--many delegated to state and local governments and private actors--are manifested every day in data collection, spying, detention, and deportation hearings, and in many cases bypassing the Constitution. The practice of privatization extends this leviathan immigration state by clamping down on civil liberties without having to oblige the courts. Ultimately, Koulish examines the contested terrain between democratic and undemocratic forces in the immigration policy domain and concludes with recommendations for how democratic forces might well still win out.

Full Product Details

Author:   Robert Koulish
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.340kg
ISBN:  

9780415996181


ISBN 10:   041599618
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   14 December 2009
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

"1. Introduction 2. Framing ""Illegal Aliens"": Sovereignty, Plenary Powers, and Discretion 3. Criminalizing Immigration 4. Neoliberalism, Surveillance and Immigration Control 5. Privatization of Immigration Control 6. Race, Class and the Border Fence Fiasco 7. The Federalization of Sovereign Control 8. Immigrant Resistance or Immigrant Control? 9. President Obama’s New Emphasis on Immigration Control 10. Conclusion"

Reviews

This is a powerful book that takes on an urgent and under-researched topic. Here in one place at last is an overview and analysis of the shifting landscape of immigration control and the increase of executive power in the U.S. that have characterized the last decade. It is a must-read, not just for immigration scholars, but for all who want to stay informed of the trajectory of American democracy. --Kitty Calavita, University of California Irvine Discarding any pretense of normative neutrality, Koulish, a self-proclaimed radical progressive, civil libertarian, immigrant rights advocate, produces a highly polemical critique of the Bush and Obama administration's immigration control policies, strategies, and techniques. Highly objectionable in themselves, they are also, he argues, part of broader efforts of the U.S. government to extend the reach of executive power, surveillance, risk management, and other instruments of social control. There is ample material to engage even the skeptical reader in a serious consideration of these developments. --Gary Freeman, University of Texas at Austin Robert Koulish's timely and hard-hitting analysis lays bare how elites have brought home the 'war on terror' via immigration control policy. A lethal combination of unchecked executive power, free market capitalism, and use of criminal and surveillance techniques now subverts the rule of law and challenges America's mantle of democracy. Although immigrants are the main targets of the post 9/11 neoliberal surveillance state, Koulish convincingly shows we are all victims of undemocratic social control. Koulish provides a unique set of tools to understand these developments and needed recommendations to advance a more democratic future. A must-read for immigrant advocates and civil libertarians. --Ron Hayduk, City University of New York


"""This is a powerful book that takes on an urgent and under-researched topic. Here in one place at last is an overview and analysis of the shifting landscape of immigration control and the increase of executive power in the U.S. that have characterized the last decade. It is a must-read, not just for immigration scholars, but for all who want to stay informed of the trajectory of American democracy."" --Kitty Calavita, University of California Irvine ""Discarding any pretense of normative neutrality, Koulish, a self-proclaimed radical progressive, civil libertarian, immigrant rights advocate, produces a highly polemical critique of the Bush and Obama administration's immigration control policies, strategies, and techniques. Highly objectionable in themselves, they are also, he argues, part of broader efforts of the U.S. government to extend the reach of executive power, surveillance, risk management, and other instruments of social control. There is ample material to engage even the skeptical reader in a serious consideration of these developments."" --Gary Freeman, University of Texas at Austin ""Robert Koulish's timely and hard-hitting analysis lays bare how elites have brought home the 'war on terror' via immigration control policy. A lethal combination of unchecked executive power, free market capitalism, and use of criminal and surveillance techniques now subverts the rule of law and challenges America's mantle of democracy. Although immigrants are the main targets of the post 9/11 neoliberal surveillance state, Koulish convincingly shows we are all victims of undemocratic social control. Koulish provides a unique set of tools to understand these developments and needed recommendations to advance a more democratic future. A must-read for immigrant advocates and civil libertarians."" --Ron Hayduk, City University of New York"


""This is a powerful book that takes on an urgent and under-researched topic. Here in one place at last is an overview and analysis of the shifting landscape of immigration control and the increase of executive power in the U.S. that have characterized the last decade. It is a must-read, not just for immigration scholars, but for all who want to stay informed of the trajectory of American democracy."" --Kitty Calavita, University of California Irvine ""Discarding any pretense of normative neutrality, Koulish, a self-proclaimed radical progressive, civil libertarian, immigrant rights advocate, produces a highly polemical critique of the Bush and Obama administration's immigration control policies, strategies, and techniques. Highly objectionable in themselves, they are also, he argues, part of broader efforts of the U.S. government to extend the reach of executive power, surveillance, risk management, and other instruments of social control. There is ample material to engage even the skeptical reader in a serious consideration of these developments."" --Gary Freeman, University of Texas at Austin ""Robert Koulish's timely and hard-hitting analysis lays bare how elites have brought home the 'war on terror' via immigration control policy. A lethal combination of unchecked executive power, free market capitalism, and use of criminal and surveillance techniques now subverts the rule of law and challenges America's mantle of democracy. Although immigrants are the main targets of the post 9/11 neoliberal surveillance state, Koulish convincingly shows we are all victims of undemocratic social control. Koulish provides a unique set of tools to understand these developments and needed recommendations to advance a more democratic future. A must-read for immigrant advocates and civil libertarians."" --Ron Hayduk, City University of New York


Author Information

Robert Koulish is Associate Professor of Law & Society at Philadelphia University.

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