Print Price: $50.99

Format:
Paperback
208 pp.
9 illustrations, 5.5" x 8.25"

ISBN-13:
9780190276010

Copyright Year:
2017

Imprint: OUP US

Becoming Legal

Immigration Law and Mixed Status Families

Ruth Gomberg-Munoz

There are approximately eleven million undocumented people living in the United States, and most of them have U.S. citizen family members. There is a common perception that marriage to a U.S. citizen puts undocumented immigrants on a quick and easy path to U.S. citizenship. But for people who have entered the U.S. unlawfully and live here without papers, the line to legal status is neither short nor easy, even for those with U.S. citizen spouses. Becoming Legal: Immigration Law and Mixed Status Families follows mixed status couples down the long and bumpy road of immigration processing. It explores how they navigate every step along the way, from the decision to undertake legalization, to the immigration interview in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to the effort to put together a case of "extreme hardship" so that the undocumented family member can return. Author Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz also discusses families' efforts to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of immigration processing-both for those who are successful and those who are not.

Becoming Legal provides rare insights into U.S. immigration processing and the ways in which immigration policies affect undocumented people, lawful immigrants, and U.S. citizens alike. It will also help students more fully understand central questions in U.S. immigration debates, such as: Why don't undocumented people wait their turn to enter the U.S. legally? Why don't they legalize their status when they have U.S. citizen relatives? And, what are the relationships between undocumented people and U.S. citizens in the current period?

Readership : Undergraduate college students of cultural anthropology, immigration and globalization, as well as general readers.

Reviews

• "Becoming Legal offers new insights into the very difficult, almost impossible, process of moving from an undocumented status to a legal permanent resident. Viewing the process through the lens of specific families works well and would be very amenable to use in classes...This book helps us understand why so many immigrant family members are stuck in legal limbo, and the difficulties that continue to exist if they are fortunate to change their status to that of a legal permanent resident."
  
  --Leo R. Chavez, University of California, Irvine
  
  
• "Becoming Legal is informative and clearly written, yet it shows the enormous complexity and byzantine nature of the immigration system. The author has done a wonderful job of conveying a daunting process in a way that is relatable and understandable by showing how people perceive and maneuver it."
  
  --Cecilia Menjivar, Arizona State University
  
  
• "This book is a very creative and interesting way of humanizing and personalizing experiences while providing a thorough critique of racist immigration policies...Gomberg-Muñoz is a great engaging writer."
  
  --Luz María Gordillo, Washington State University Vancouver
  
  
• "This is gripping book about a deeply disturbing and inhumane process faced by millions of largely working class Latinos/as. Everyone should read this work to understand our flawed immigration system and how it affects millions of real lives...By combining individual cases and voices with the explanation of the complex legal dimension, the author is able to provide a clear picture of this heart-wrenching process."
  
  --Enrique C. Ochoa, California State University, Los Angeles
  
  
• "Becoming Legal will be a classic for introductory courses on globalization and migration, on the US immigration system, and on 'the immigrant experience.' No other text I know of examines the history of our current immigration control system, as well as how it systematically penalizes Mexican immigrants...It is well-written, well-argued, and accessible, and I think it will be an excellent addition to the courses I teach...One of the terrific strengths of this book is that it humanizes undocumented migrants by presenting as ordinary people with whom readers can identity-people who form families and understandably wish to remain with them."
  
  --Sarah Horton, University of Colorado, Denver