Immigration remains one of the most polarizing issues in public discourse, sparking intense debates over ethics, economics, and national identity. In her new book, Bordering on Indifference: Immigration Agents Negotiating Race and Morality, UC Irvine sociologist Irene Vega tells the story of how U.S. Border Patrol Agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officers come into the work, how they are trained and socialized once on the job, and how that training and socialization impacts the way they reconcile its many moral and racial tensions. In Engage and Evade, Asad L. Asad examines how undocumented immigrants navigate complex dynamics of surveillance and punishment, providing an extraordinary portrait of fear and hope on the margins. We asked both to reflect on what questions we should be asking about immigration at this moment in history.
About the Authors
Asad L. Asad is assistant professor of sociology at Stanford University, where he is a faculty affiliate of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity.
Irene I. Vega is assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine.