A recently released email from the Department of Justice stated that: “Specifically when a defendant’s illegal presence in the U.S. is an established fact in the public record […] they should be referred to as an “illegal alien.” Furthermore, the email asserted that: “The word ‘undocumented’ is not based in U.S. code, and should not be used to describe someone’s illegal presence in the country.” Taking these pronouncements on the language of illegality as a reflection of the violence experienced by undocumented migrants, as well as many Latinx groups, under the Trump administration, this panel seeks papers that discuss the tangible impact of the U.S.’s policing, surveillance, detention, and deportation of migrants on Latinx communities.

Roundtable featuring Heide Castañeda, Norma Chinchilla, Susanne Jonas, Sarah Luna, Girsea Martinez-Rosas, Max Shue, Angela Stuesse, and Elizabeth Vaquera