4426 - The Social Anatomy of a Deportation Regime Workshop

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Description

The Social Anatomy of a Deportation Regime (SADR) is a research working group based out of The Center on Social Change and Transgressive Studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Its research focuses on deportation, crimmigration, border control, migrant detention, migrant resistance, as well as the class, gender, and racial dynamics which interweave these social issues.

This workshop will bring together experts from the Center to present practical ways to conduct research on the internal dynamics of the deportation regime. We will discuss ways that researchers can build tools to effectively document the regime’s punitive effects on immigrant communities, while supporting the defense of immigrants caught up in its bureaucracy.

In the first section of this workshop, expert witness Professor David Brotherton, along with experienced immigration court observer and PhD candidate Sarah Tosh, will present their research and work in immigration court. Presenters will discuss practical engagement in the defense of immigrants facing forced removal, the use of ethnographic court observation, and ongoing research on the innovative strategies immigration lawyers use to defend their clients.

In the second workshop, Professor Shirley Leyro will discuss her research examining the impact that deportability has on the mental wellbeing on noncitizen immigrants. In particular, Dr. Leyro will discuss her current study, The CUNY Belonging Study, which explores the impact that noncitizen status has on the feelings of belonging and membership of CUNY students. Belonging and membership have been found to have an effect on self-esteem and mental health (Bettancourt, 1999; Crocker, et al. 1994; Hagerty, 1992).

In the final section of the workshop, doctoral students Marianne Madore and Nicholas Rodrigo will present their participant observation field notes from their ethnographic study of the Border Security Expo in San Antonio, TX. Presenters will lead a discussion of how the ethnographic observation of border security bureaucracies can be conducted to enhance public scrutiny and protect human rights standards.

Sub Unit

• Workshops / Policy and Research Workshop

Session Organizers

• Edwin Grimsley, The Graduate Center, CUNY

• David Charles Brotherton, John Jay College

Leaders

• Sarah Rose Tosh, CUNY Graduate Center

• Nicholas Rodrigo

• Marianne Madoré, Graduate Center City University of New York

Co-Leader

• Shirley Leyro, Borough of Manhattan Community College