Patrolling Chaos: The U.S. Border Patrol in Deep South Texas [Hardcover]

Robert Lee Maril (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2004

"[A] fine ethnographic study of a rigid, militaristic, masculinist bureaucracy, the Border Patrol. . . . Using vivid prose, Maril weaves the complex history of south Texas, with its race and class injustices, into the text and makes deft critiques of the ways the bureaucracy and its chaotic environment shape the agents' behavior and language. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice "[Explores] the deeper, darker, and less obvious parts of [Texas] history and culture. . . . To the book's great benefit, it addresses the history behind the many intriguing tales of the border patrol."—Austin Chronicle "Entertaining . . . Maril has done a great service in delivering a very readable book about what really goes on at America's most porous border."—San Antonio Express-News "Engaging and enlightening . . . An uncensored look at a branch of the U.S. government that rarely lets in outsiders."—McAllen Monitor As the 110,000 residents of McAllen, Texas, sleep soundly, a small number of U.S. Border Patrol agents wait in dark shadows on the northern bank of the Rio Grande. Those thinly spread watchers are the first line of defense against a chaotic tide of undocumented workers struggling to cross the river to El Norte and small, fiercely determined groups of drug smugglers with huge sums of money at stake. Patrolling Chaos is based on extensive ethnographic field work focusing on one station of three hundred agents over a two-year period. It follows twelve typical agents, men and women, as they go about their regular ten-hour patrols along the border. It describes the daily challenges and risks they face and the perspectives and insights they hold as a result of their extensive, first-hand experience with the hard realities of immigration policy, the war on drugs, and the threat of terrorist infiltration. Robert Lee Maril writes about the surveillance and apprehension of thousands of undocumented workers, drug interdictions involving huge quantities of marijuana and cocaine, the deaths of illegal immigrants by drowning and as a result of high-speed chases, corruption among law enforcers, and other events that shape the work lives of agents. The book also describes the impact of the 9/11 attacks on border security and on the personal lives of the agents and their families. This account of the world of U.S. Border Patrol agents will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of our border with Mexico, the people and the resources of the borderlands, the constant flow of illegal immigrants and drugs, and new challenges confronting the enforcement of laws and policy in light of international terrorism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Explores] the less obvious parts of [Texas] history. . . .addressing the history behind the many intriguing tales of the border patrol." -- Austin Chronicle

About the Author

Robert Lee Maril is professor and chair of the Department of Sociology, East Carolina University. He is also author of Texas Shrimpers: Community, Capitalism, and the Sea; Waltzing with the Ghost of Tom Joad; Poverty, Myth, and Low-Wage Labor in Oklahoma; Bay Shrimpers of Texas; Rural Fisherman in a Global Economy; The Poorest of Americans; The Mexican Americans of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas; and other books on poverty, labor,and lifeways.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press (November 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896725375
• ISBN-13: 978-0896725379
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,053,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The insights are clear, hard-hitting and document border patrol encounters and issues alike., December 13, 2006

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patrolling Chaos: The U.S. Border Patrol in Deep South Texas (Paperback)

Any interested in border issues, especially since it's been in the newspapers as headlines lately, must have PATROLLING CHAOS: THE U.S. BORDER PATROL IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. An initial glance might deem it a specialty item for either college-level holdings or Southern libraries - but it's also a recommended pick for any general-interest collection strong in immigration issues. Chapters focus on one station of the three hundred Border Patrol agents over a tw--year period, following twelve typical men and women as they conduct their ten-hour border patrols. The insights are clear, hard-hitting and document border patrol encounters and issues alike.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch