The Trump Paradox - by Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda & Edward Telles (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The Trump Paradox: Migration, Trade and Racial Politics in US-Mexico Relations explores one of the most complex and unequal cross-border relations anywhere in the world, in the light of a twenty-first century political economy generally and the rise of Donald Trump in particular. The book examines current US-Mexico relations through state-of-the-art analysis by scholars from both Mexico and the United States, sometimes working on binational teams. Organized into four sections, the first two chapters frame the trade and migration paradoxes that inform the exploration of these issues in the rest of the book. Politics has paradoxically stirred racial resentment around immigrants just as immigration from Mexico has reached net zero and without consideration for the trillion plus contribution of Latinos to the US GD. Indeed, a dilemma for rich and aging societies like the United States is that for their economies to continue flourishing, they need immigrants"--

Book Synopsis

The Trump Paradox: Migration, Trade, and Racial Politics in US-Mexico Integration explores one of the most complex and unequal cross-border relations in the world, in light of both a twenty-first-century political economy and the rise of Donald Trump. Despite the trillion-plus dollar contribution of Latinos to the US GDP, political leaders have paradoxically stirred racial resentment around immigrants just as immigration from Mexico has reached net zero. With a roster of state-of-the-art scholars from both Mexico and the US, The Trump Paradox explores a dilemma for a divided nation such as the US: in order for its economy to continue flourishing, it needs immigrants and trade.

From the Back Cover

"A stellar collection of essays by top scholars from both nations, The Trump Paradox: Migration, Trade, and Racial Politics in US-Mexico Relations is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the true connections between these two countries. Chapter after chapter, the book debunks myths, sheds new light on the dynamics of migration and trade, and shows how the evidence differs from President Trump´s polarizing narrative."--Nora Lustig, Samuel Z. Stone Professor of Latin American Economics and Founding Director, Commitment to Equity Institute, Tulane University

"Immigration and trade are two longstanding key components of the relationship between Mexico and the US. The Trump Paradox offers valuable analysis that helps separate facts from political discourse and also understand the dynamics of immigration and trade under the Trump presidency. The migration phenomenon in particular will continue to be a source of tension until a better way to manage it is achieved. The book makes a great contribution towards this goal."--Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández, former Ambassador of Mexico and former Director of the North American Development Bank

"The Trump Paradox distills and evaporates a number of myths about the US-Mexico relationship. The paradox itself is the negative correlation between Trump supporters and the presence of Mexican immigrants and trade with Mexico. The relationship between the US and Mexico requires a saner immigration and trade policy than the one we have. The writers in The Trump Paradox help point us to a better way."--Janet Napolitano, President Emerita, University of California

"Brings a plethora of fresh evidence to understand the US-Mexico relationship, particularly around immigration and trade debates that were central to Donald Trump's election victory in 2016, which will also remain pressing issues into the foreseeable future. Several of the chapters stand out as must-reads for scholars and students alike."--David Scott FitzGerald, author of Refuge beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers

"The volume is a timely analysis of the Trump administration's immigration and trade policies, and the public response--which the editors present as paradoxical on many different fronts. The chapters represent an impressive range of methodological and theoretical traditions, authored by a much-needed binational and interdisciplinary mix of leading migration scholars."--Shannon Gleeson, Cornell University

Review Quotes

"Looking forward, the contributors argue persuasively that strong national industrial and infrastructure policies, rather than trade accords, will speed future regional prosperity."-- "Foreign Affairs"

"This is a big book--not so much in length, but in the breadth of coverage, depth of analysis, and gravitas of its contributors. . . . a thoughtfully organized edited volume examining the paradoxes associated with Trump's pronounced opposition to migration from, and trade with, Mexico."-- "Ethnic and Racial Studies"

About the Author

Raúl Hinojosa Ojeda is Associate Professor in the UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies and is the founder and director of the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center.

Edward Telles is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and director of the Center for Research on International Migration at UC Irvine.