Enforcing Order on the Border - (Sociology of Race and Ethnicity) by Eric Gamino

Book Synopsis

As a lifelong resident of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, Eric Gamino has always been curious why some U.S.-born Latinos were indifferent toward Latino immigrants, especially since both groups lived within the same majority Latino-origin community--the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (RGV). Enforcing Order on the Border offers a personal, ethnographic examination of Gamino's life as a resident of the RGV coupled with his experience as a police officer for two different police departments in the region. Gamino reveals how the concept of race functions within a predominantly Latino-origin community.

Gamino unpacks the interplay between local police, federal immigration officials, and civilians as they encounter immigration. Enforcing Order on the Border illustrates how institutional practices such as immigration enforcement occur on the South Texas-Mexico borderlands as collaborative eff orts between local police and the U.S. Border Patrol from an institutional perspective. Consequently, this collaborative eff ort in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands creates a distinctive method of policing, which he tellingly refers to as "constitution-free policing." Gamino provides a unique perspective on how the concept of race in a predominantly Latino-origin community complicates intraracial/intraethnic relations on the South Texas-Mexico borderlands.

Review Quotes

Eric Gamino masterfully provides us with a glimpse into a crevice where immigration, racialization, policing, and ICE enforcement intersect in South Texas. He takes us into a world that few of us see. This is a must-read for students, scholars, and policymakers.--Rogelio Sáenz "Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio and coauthor of Latinos in the United States: Diversity and Change"

In this groundbreaking autoethnography, Gamino--a former law enforcement officer--pulls back the curtain on the harsh realities of the U.S.-Mexico border, exposing the inner workings of the crimmigration system in the Rio Grande Valley. Drawing from firsthand experience, Enforcing Order on the Border offers an unflinching look at how undocumented immigrants are treated, the dangers they face on their journeys through the border, and the systemic forces driving U.S. border enforcement. No other book has gone this deep into the conflicted space where duty, identity, discrimination, and justice collide. This is an essential reading for students, policymakers, and the general public seeking to understand the true human cost and the underpinnings of border enforcement.--Nadia Y. Flores-Yeffal "Director, Texas Tech University Population Center"

A timely insider perspective of racialized immigration enforcement targeting Latinos along the U.S.-Mexico border. A must-read in our current political climate of Constitution-free policing!--Robert J. Durán "author of The Gang Paradox: Inequality and Miracles on the U.S.-Mexico Border"

About the Author

ERIC GAMINO is an associate professor of criminology and justice studies at California State University, Northridge.