Sanctuary Making in Uncertain Times: Immigrant Families Navigating The New Deportation Regime

Immigration policy and enforcement practices in the U.S. now extend beyond the border to the country’s interior, impacting the private lives of millions of undocumented and mixed-status families in new ways. Sanctuary Making traces this shift, showing how as enforcement has expanded and deepened, new “hot spots” have appeared across nontraditional sites such as neighborhoods, roads, worksites, hospitals, grocery stores, and homes. Undercurrents of fear, anxiety, and loss permeate the everyday lives of the families navigating these terrains of enforcement. Carolina Valdivia reveals the emotional and material labor of young adults that often underpins families’ sanctuary making efforts—strategies to shield against the worst outcomes of enforcement.

 

Carolina Valdivia is an Assistant Professor in UCI’s Department of Criminology, Law and Society. Her book Sanctuary Making is now available from UC Press.