Neglected, Protected, Ejected: Latin American Women Caught by Crimmigration. (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dingeman, Katie; Arzhayev, Yekaterina; Ayala, Cristy; Bermudez, Erika; Padama, Lauren; Tena-Chávez, Liliana
• Other Names: Lopez Vera guest-editor.; Pasko Lisa guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Feminist criminology. Volume 12:Number 3(2017:Jul.)
• Page Start: 293
• Page End: 314
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: deportation -- crimmigration -- Latinas -- criminality -- gender; Feminist criminology -- Periodicals; Female offenders -- Periodicals; 364.37405
• DOI: 10.1177/1557085117691354
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1557-0851

Abstract

The United States deported 24, 870 women in 2013, mostly to Latin America. We examine life history interviews with Mexican and Central American women who were apprehended, detained, and experienced different outcomes. We find that norms of the "crimmigration era" override humanitarian concerns, such that the state treats migrants as criminals first and as persons with claims for relief second. Removal and relief decisions appear less dependent on eligibility than geography, access to legal aid, and public support. Women's experiences parallel men's but are often worsened by their gendered statuses. Far from passively accepting the violence of crimmigration, women resist through discourse and activism.