Humanizing Immigration

“Incisive and compelling, reflecting the painful wisdom and knowledge that Bill Ong Hing has accrued over the course of fifty years representing noncitizens ensnared by our profoundly cruel and unjust immigration system.” —Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow “Humanizing Immigration is a passionate, clear-eyed, and necessary call for restoring justice and humanity in America’s broken and corrupt immigration system, which has punished and criminalized communities simply seeking a chance to participate in the elusive American dream. Professor Hing uses his lifetime of experience to makes a compelling and persuasive case to abolish ICE and to inspire political leaders and organizers to disrupt and reform laws and policies to uplift, instead of demonize, those of us who come from the ‘sh*thole countries.’” —Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back to Where You Came From “For anyone who has wondered whether or why we should abolish ICE, this book is a must-read. Long-time immigration lawyer and activist Bill Ong Hing clearly lays out how racism, over-policing, over-enforcement, and the cruel absurdities of immigration law lead to wholly unnecessary human tragedies. With his deep knowledge of the intricacies of the law and its implementation, Hing proposes practical steps toward mitigating the worst of ICE abuses while also making a powerful case for the larger goal of abolition and imagining what a just immigration system could look like.” —Aviva Chomsky, author of Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal “Once again, Bill Ong Hing has delivered an insightful and damning critique of the US immigration regime, making clear that deep histories of racialized exclusion continue to ensnare law and life in the United States. Woven together with stories from his frontline work as an attorney, this book is a call to action for meaningful immigration reform.” —Kelly Lytle Hernández, author of Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands “An essential read. Bill Ong Hing expertly dissects America’s broken immigration system with authority and aplomb. I trust few people more than him to drive discourse and action around immigrants.” —Jose Antonio Vargas, author of Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen