Deported to Death - (California Public Anthropology) by Jeremy Slack (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Deported to Death explores the consequences of the United States' policies of mass removal into some of the most dangerous regions in the world. Over the past decade Mexico has experienced an earthshaking conflict over control of drug trafficking while millions of people were simultaneous deported directly into the midst of this violence often without identification, money, contacts or in the middle of the night. This book explores how the violence associated with the drug trade has impacted the movement of people back and forth across the border. This includes Central Americans and Mexicans, travelling north, but also those that have been removed. By studying the dynamics of removal and the ways that deportees are targeted by organized crime along Mexico's northern border, not only does it give us a better sense of the consequences of a militarized war on drugs, but it helps us understand the violence intrinsic to forced removal. The dynamics of border enforcement make it easy to kidnap, extort and kill deportees who are neither from the border, nor are they at their final destination. This puts people at extreme risks that we are woefully ill equipped to address"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

What happens to migrants after they are deported from the United States and dropped off at the Mexican border, often hundreds if not thousands of miles from their hometowns? In this eye-opening work, Jeremy Slack foregrounds the voices and experiences of Mexican deportees, who frequently become targets of extreme forms of violence, including migrant massacres, upon their return to Mexico.

Navigating the complex world of the border, Slack investigates how the high-profile drug war has led to more than two hundred thousand deaths in Mexico, and how many deportees, stranded and vulnerable in unfamiliar cities, have become fodder for drug cartel struggles. Like no other book before it, Deported to Death reshapes debates on the long-term impact of border enforcement and illustrates the complex decisions migrants must make about whether to attempt the return to an often dangerous life in Mexico or face increasingly harsh punishment in the United States.

From the Back Cover

"A gripping ethnographic portrait written with a deep and nuanced knowledge of life at the border."--Reece Jones, author of Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move

"A fresh perspective on how drug violence has impacted migrants along the US-Mexico border, resulting in a persuasive and important account of how violence associated with the 'war on drugs' and violence experienced by migrants are interconnected."--Shaylih Muehlmann, author of When I Wear My Alligator Boots: Narco-Culture in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands

Review Quotes

"A striking exploration of the intense marginalisation and vulnerability faced by deportees. . . . Slack is unwavering in his pursuit of the cross-border nature of the forces at work in shaping this environment."-- "European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies"

"Deported to Death provides an important look at what happens to migrants after they are deported from the United States."-- "Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology"

"For those seeking a better understanding of the more searing aspects of US border and immigration policies, Deported to Death is essential reading."-- "Survival: Global Politics and Strategy"

About the Author

Jeremy Slack is Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Texas at El Paso. He is editor of The Shadow of the Wall: Violence and Migration on the U.S.-Mexico Border.