Divided by the Wall: Progressive and Conservative Immigration Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border

The book "Divided by the Wall" explores why activists on both the left and right engage in immigration and border politics so passionately by comparing progressive pro-immigrant activists with conservative immigration-restrictionist opponents. It shows how immigration politics has become a substitute for struggles around class inequality among white Americans, and how activists mobilized to change the rules of immigration and experience a change in themselves.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 316 pages
Publication date: 04 August 2020
Publisher: University of California Press

The construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has become a contentious issue in contemporary America, with a recent impasse over funding resulting in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. In the Arizona borderlands, groups of predominantly white American citizens have been mobilizing for decades, with some helping undocumented immigrants bypass governmental detection and others assisting law enforcement agents in apprehending immigrants. Activists on both the left and right mobilize passionately, often doubting that their actions can bring about long-term change.

Divided by the Wall, a unique comparative study, offers an in-depth exploration of progressive pro-immigrant activists and their conservative immigration-restrictionist opponents. Conducted over twenty months of ethnographic research with five grassroots organizations, Emine Fidan Elcioglu sheds light on how immigration politics has emerged as a substitute for struggles around class inequality among white Americans. Through her analysis, Elcioglu demonstrates how activists mobilized not only to alter immigration rules but also to undergo personal transformations. She reveals that the differing social class and intersectional identities on both sides of the border mapped onto distinct concerns about state power. As activists strategized ways to expand the scope of state power, they also sought to carve out self-transformative roles for themselves.

This book is provocative and balanced, challenging our understanding of immigration politics in times of growing inequality and insecurity. It provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics and motivations driving activists on both sides of the immigration debate and offers a roadmap for navigating the increasingly polarized political landscape.

Weight: 420g
Dimension: 154 x 227 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520340367