Deportable and Disposable - Public Rhetoric and the Making of the "Illegal" Immigrant (Hardcover)

In the 1920s, the US government passed legislation against undocumented entry into the country, and as a result the figure of the "illegal alien" took form in the national discourse. In this book, Lisa A. Flores explores the history of our language about Mexican immigrants and exposes how our words made these migrants "illegal." Deportable and Disposable brings a rhetorical lens to a question that has predominantly concerned historians: how do differently situated immigrant populations come to belong within the national space of whiteness, and thus of American-ness? Flores presents a genealogy of our immigration discourse through four stereotypes: the "illegal alien," a foreigner and criminal who quickly became associated with Mexican migrants; the "bracero," a docile Mexican contract laborer; the "zoot suiter," a delinquent Mexican American youth engaged in gang culture; and the "wetback," an unwanted migrant who entered the country by swimming across the Rio Grande. By showing how these figures were constructed, Flores provides insight into the ways in which we racialize language and how we can transform our political rhetoric to ensure immigrant populations come to belong as part of the country, as Americans. Timely, thoughtful, and eye-opening, Deportable and Disposable initiates a necessary conversation about the relationship between racial rhetoric and the literal and figurative borders of the nation. This powerful book will inform policy makers, scholars, activists, and anyone else interested in race, rhetoric, and immigration in the United States.

General

Imprint:	Pennsylvania State University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Rhetoric and Democratic Deliberation
Release date:	October 2020
First published:	2020
Authors:	Lisa A. Flores
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 23mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Sewn
Pages:	236
ISBN-13:	978-0-271-08788-7
Categories:	Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Communication studies > General Books > Humanities > History > American history > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Refugees & political asylum Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Equal opportunities Books > History > American history > General Promotions
LSN:	0-271-08788-9
Barcode:	9780271087887

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