Paper short abstract:

This paper examines state law hb56 as part of a paradigm shift in regional immigration enforcement in the US, and the community response in the face of near-total expulsion

Paper long abstract:

The State of Alabama has recently passed and implemented what has been called a "draconian" state immigration law, hailed by both proponents as the harshest anti-immigrant law in the country. Authors of the law purport that its purpose as: "attrition via enforcement," a new philosophy to deportation whereby the undocumented immigrant is pushed, through policy that criminalizes her existence within state boundaries, denies her access to work and negates access to basic necessities such as public utilities, education and housing, to effectively deport herself or encounter ever more ubiquitous state-sponsored deportations based on the "reasonable suspicion" of lack of status. As consequence, undocumented immigrants today incorporate the threat of deportation into their everyday lives, articulating a fear that routine, mundane actions may lead to deportation. Based on ethnographic research during the proposal, passing, and implementation of this law, this paper will explore how undocumented Latin American immigrants have reacted, choosing to flee to other states or back to their home countries or stay and reiterate their sense of belonging within Alabama by engaging in new forms of grassroots activism, relying on already established mixed status social networks, and holding out to see what comes with both fear and indignation. This paper will argue this law represents a fundamental shift in the state's approach to deportation from one of punitive control to one of total expulsion of a targeted community based on emergent concepts of borders and security, as well as examining new forms of organization and resistance by those affected.