Every day you just learn more about how the US is the absolute worst.

A must read for understanding the historical context of anti-immigration sentiment and debunking many of the mainstream narratives pushed by the right. The historical context highlights how the overt violence towards immigrants by working class nativists has developed due to the failures of capitalism.

This book makes it clear that there is no imaginable future of open borders and justice without the destruction of capitalism. Capitalism needs borders, but workers don’t!

The content of this book is great - there’s a lot of history there. However, the content felt repetitive and there wasn’t good connecting voice throughout. Better as an academic book to read chapter by chapter rather than a relaxed for-fun read.

Very informative but it reads like an extended pamphlet.

learned a lot from this, wrote tons down. part one seemed a little out of place, at least for the beginning of the book.

Este libro está dividido en dos partes: En la la primera, Mike Davis habla de la historia del vigilantismo racista en EEUU, mientras que en la segunda, Justin Akers Chacón habla del rol del capitalismo en la opresión de migrantes mexicanos indocumentados.

A mi parecer, la parte de Davis es excelente y no le reclamaría nada. Perfectamente documentada y explicada. Por el otro lado, la sección que escribe Akers Chacón sigue siendo interesante y me brindó una buena perspectiva sobre cómo se mueven los intereses de las grandes empresas en relación a la migración. Sin embargo, creo ofrece una versión simplista del asunto. Él argumenta que el capitalismo es el causante de la xenofobia en EEUU y que un sistema socialista ayudaría a los indocumentados. No obstante, en el mundo hay incontables ejemplos de que países socialistas, tanto dictatoriales (Cuba y la URSS) como socialdemócratas (Noruega y Finlandia) no tratan bien a los que tratan de migrar.

En conclusión, aunque no esté de acuerdo con muchas de sus determinaciones, creo que Nadie Es Ilegal es un libro bueno para entender la historia (y el presente) del movimiento antimigrante en los Estados Unidos.

Dewey 304.873072 Ak37n

Great analysis of immigration from Mexico from a socialist perspective. The authors are clear in stating that global capitalism is the number one root cause of “illegal” immigration and expose the hypocrisy of the Democratic Party. Great read for immigration studies.

The facts are a bit outdated at times but the history of Mexican immigrants and the criminalization of the border were fascinating topics to discover.

Very good book that illustrates past battles over immigration as well as the current ones and situates them within their proper economic context.

No one is illegal: Fighting Racism and State Violence on the U.S.–Mexico Border by Justin Akers Chacón and Mike Davis

Considering the racist nature of public policy in the United States, there was little surprising in this book. It is a detailed and well-documented compilation of the legacy of oppression of immigrants in the United States - regardless of their documentation. While this book can stand alone, and is quite excellent, for additional illumination of the subjects in this book I would also recommend “Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America” by Juan Gonzalez and “Three Worlds of Relief: Race, Immigration, and the American Welfare State from the Progressive Era to the New Deal” by Cybelle Fox.

The first part of this book is devoted to a detailed account of the role of vigilantes and state supported violence against workers on behalf of wealthy agricultural businesses. The second part of the book is devoted to a detailed account of the long and sordid history of the use of immigration law and policy to oppress workers in general, and workers from Mexico and other parts of Latin America.

In this review I want to call my readers’ attention to two things. First, the connection between racial oppression of African Americans and racism at work in the fields of California. Contrary to the Northern white liberal message that racism is the exclusive domain of the South, racist terrorism has been, and still is, a horrific staple of life for African Americans all over the nation. To this day the terror unleashed is perpetrated by white citizens, often with the tacit approval and frequently with the active participation of the so-called law enforcement community. One only need to read Ida B. Wells-Barnett “Red Record” or Elliot Jaspin’s “Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America” to understand the extent to which this is true. In part one of this book, author Mike Davis outlines the history in California of the same triumvirate of terror: big agriculture, ordinary racist white citizens and law enforcement. While the outcomes were not as horrific as those visited upon African Americans, the parallels in approaches were impossible to miss.

Critical to recognizing the nature of United States society is the important distinction between racist individuals and systemic racial oppression and violence. Critical to this analysis is to never lose focus on the systemic racism in the society. Mr. Davis traced this in California from the time of the Mexican - American War. (The scope of his work did not include the Native American genocide prior to that time). He describes a long-standing system: “But what truly demarcates the United States is not so much the scale or frequency of state repression, but rather the extraordinary centrality of institutionalized private violence in the reproduction of the racial and social order.” (Location 437, Kindle Edition). Privatized violence, in the form of hired vigilantes, was repeatedly employed against immigrants from China, Japan and Latin America. Mr. Davis explores in detail how: “Organized private violence, usually in tandem with local law enforcement, has shaped the racial-caste system of California agriculture, defeated radical labor movements like the IWW, and kept the New Deal out of the state’s farm counties.” (Location 413, Kindle Edition). The link to local law enforcement also extended to the federal level: “The fighting spirit of the field workers of all races was magnificent, but it was virtually impossible to defeat the growers as long as local courts and sheriffs were firmly aligned with the vigilantes, and the state and federal governments stood on the sidelines.” (Location 1150, Kindle Edition) Later in the book we learn that the state government and federal government have not stood on the sidelines: they continue to maintain the oppression of Latin American immigrants and migrant workers by actively encouraging vigilantes like the “Minutemen” on the border and by vastly increasing the number of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.

Much is made of the so-called fight against fascism during World War II (WW II) but little is made of the sympathetic feelings for fascism held by powerful people (look up Charles Lindbergh). Davis quotes a California grower: “Another leader of the Associated Farmers returned from Germany full of praise for Adolf Hitler (who “ha[d] done more for democracy than any man before him”) and the admirable Nazi definition of citizenship: “you simply say that anybody who agrees with you is a citizen of the first class and anybody who does not agree with you is a non-voting citizen.” (Location 1271, Kindle Edition). This reminded me of a quote from Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon”: “You think Hitler surprised them?. . . . Hitler’s the most natural white man in the world.” (p. 155).

While I learned a lot from this book about the historic details of vigilantism in California for me a major take away was a reinforcement of a consistent theme of history in the United States. This theme has three main threads: 1) those of European descent could easily be convinced to work as private forces of terror in support of the wealthy exploiters of workers; 2) mediocre white people have a sense of entitlement to all resources, which is easily threatened by hard-working Black, Latino, Chinese and Japanese people (and by the rightful claims of Native Americans to the land and resources); and 3) these two forces, aligned with the legal system, have no boundaries attributable to humane conduct of life. These are themes that never surfaced in the education system where I went to school: part and parcel of systemic racism in the United States.

Justin Akers Cachon wrote the remaining sections of this book which cover a narrow but deep array of topics related to the exploitation of Latin American workers - and by extension all workers. While these sections of the book offer very detailed accounts of the driving forces and history of immigration legislation - in particular in the last 30 years - there are two components of this analysis I want to bring to light: 1) the link between the need for corporations to have easily exploitable workforces and immigration policy and 2) the absence of distinction between the two main parties in United States politics.

As early as the preface to the 2018 Kindle Edition these two components come to light: “By keeping a growing segment of the workforce noncitizen and vulnerable to persecution, capitalists can leverage down wages, more easily fire those who attempt to organize or speak out, and foster or exploit racial tensions as a means to divide and segment their workforces to preempt collective bargaining.” (Location 235, Kindle Edition). The responsibility for this is made clear: “Since this migration has been composed primarily of working migrants, it has led to a substantial shift in the character of the U.S. workforce. This has been used to the advantage of capital, as Democratic and Republican administrations alike have whittled down the pathways to citizenship for this latest generation of immigrants while simultaneously increasing enforcement penalties.” (Location 229, Kindle Edition). So while vilifying the Apprentice is low-hanging fruit, this particular fruit is from the exact same tree that was planted and nourished in the United States from 1619 to the present. (For example, see also The Naturalization Act of 1790, which specified, ““Any alien, being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen … and the children of such persons … shall also be considered as citizens of the United States.”)

The power of workers primarily comes from their ability to act collectively to bring the employer to the bargaining table in order to negotiate for a variety of benefits including pay, health care and pension benefits. Since their inception, labor unions have been under a sustained attack by corporations with the paid assistance of the legislative and executive branches of government. Immigration policy is no different. According to Cachon, “The subordination of Mexican capitalism to U.S. imperialism and the global institutions of neoliberalism set the stage for further economic convulsions. Out-migration served as a release valve for the socially dislocated. This by-product was welcomed by a U.S. market eager to absorb not only Mexican imports, but also its reserve armies of labor, since migrants could be paid less and leveraged against unionized workers.” (Location 2001, Kindle Edition). In this section of the book Cachon details this case and documents it clearly: “receipts” as they say. This case is supported in the work by Juan Gonzalez mentioned above (“Harvest of Empire”).

United States corporations have a vested interest in immigration policy, “To fully open or close the borders would have a deleterious effect on profits, since the former would enable equalization of rights for workers and the latter would restrict business’s access to both necessary labor and necessarily cheap labor.” (Location 3174, Kindle Edition). Mr. Cachon goes on to say, “The anti-immigrant choir is a reflection of conflicts taking place within the U.S. economy. On the one hand, immigrants provide an easy target for politicians seeking to deflect attention from the systemic deficiencies of capitalism; on the other hand, their legal integration into the working class creates the conditions for participation in unions and the political process, and is thus a threat to the mega-profits of corporate America.” (Location 3046, Kindle Edition). Of course Congress, a pay to play caricature of democracy, goes along with it all.

Speaking of Congress one must remember that over the past 20 years it has been controlled by both parties at different times. Throughout that time immigration policy has been on a steady course of increased deportations, punitive immigration policies aimed at workers and an increasingly Byzantine set of regulations and policies of a “path to citizenship” that looks like a mountain goat migration track from Santiago, Chile to Banff, Canada. Mr. Cachon documents the increasingly stringent policies that kicked in with the Bush administration after the attack on the World Trade Center, which were increased during the Obama administration. Under President Obama, “The U.S. government currently spends about $66 billion annually on immigration and border enforcement,” (Location 6491) And the Border Patrol increased from, “10,000 in 2004 to more than 21,000 today [2018].” (Location 6491, Kindle Edition) ICE has seen, “Total enforcement personnel increased from 41,001 to over 61,354, and there was a vast expansion of ICE offices, field operations, and detention centers throughout the interior of the country.” (Location 6511)

Immigration is an issue that both parties really agree on. Cachon explains, “Since the Democratic Party is a creature of the American capitalist system, it can’t stray too far from its master’s side. . . .So, as the immigrant working class goes about constructing a new civil rights movement aimed at democratizing society and winning equality for all workers, the Democrats have gone on the offensive to demobilize it. . . .In other words, the Democratic Party works to contain any self-activated protests of workers that operate outside of its control or challenge the absolute power of big business.” (Locations 4166, 4177 and 4183, Kindle Edition). We can see this happening in current events as well. Do not be surprised if we see increased funding for police militarization from both sides of the aisle after the November election.

What has escaped the media spotlight is the true impact of draconian policies toward immigrant workers. Citing the case of Alabama, Cachon calls it to our attention: “The fear of arrest sowed terror in the immigrant community, which fled in droves. It also exposed the hollowness of the idea that the expulsion of immigrants would create jobs for citizens. Instead, the law could cost Alabama up to $11 billion in GDP and nearly $265 million in state income and sales tax (since fewer than nine of every hundred of the eighty thousand jobs vacated were being filled by unemployed legal residents and citizens).” (Location 6462, Kindle Edition).

I have only illuminated a small fraction of the insights reading this book brought about. The illusions and distortions of the corporate propaganda machine are vast and these authors go a long way toward exposing them all. Having read this book I know I will examine immigration issues from a better informed position. I recommend it highly.--

Mixture of informative social history of the US south west and its class struggles over immigration and rather strident agit-prop. Read it over a week when I was due to watch, and provide comment as a discusaant, a screen of 'Welcome to Shelbyville'. Helped me to clarify throughts on the whole 'US as a country built by migrants' bit - which is obviously true by terribly soft focus, rose-tinted stuff.