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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Authoritarian madness in the "land of the free", April 1, 2007
This review is from: Targeted: Homeland Security and the Business of Immigration (Paperback)
Deepa Fernandes has done this country a huge favor by exposing the business interests, and the nefarious ideology behind the crack-down on immigrants. Some prefer to call them "illegals," but to many, these undocumented people are family, friends, fellow Christians, essential workers, etc. Now these economic refugees of the catastrophe of neoliberal economics are becoming objects of revenue in the growing immigrant detention and deportation complex.
Fernandes provides all sorts of facts and stories that are informative, heart-breaking and infuriating. Some will avoid her, since they are so emotionally invested in the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has been drilled into our heads by politicians like Tom Tancredo, and countless right-wing radio hosts. Even progressive radio hosts, like Thom Hartmann, are calling for the punishment of US employers who hire undocumented workers. To cut off that source of income from Latin Americans, who have suffered under the boot of our corporate and military empire for generations, is unconscionable.
I was so pleased to hear Fernandes interviewed recently on "Radio Nation with Laura Flanders." She is so deserving of the publicity, and the American people are deserving of the truth of the lives of immigrants and those who are persecuting them - persecuting some of "the least among us." During Flanders' dialogue with Fernandes, someone called in and spoke of the "blowback" immigrants are experiencing due to their recent efforts to organize and pressure for their rights. Immigrants, or the citizen children of immigrants, who have marched or boycotted for immigration reform are finding ICE agents at their door.
At some point, especially if we experience another militant attack in retaliation to our state violence, those who are calling for these raids and detention centers may see this police state turned against their fellow citizens (just as the DEA currently throws countless lower class people into cages). I guess those who have been trained to accept, or who have a career in our system of crime and punishment, are always glad to see more spending going their way. Fortunately, there are those who do value freedom and decent relations with people from other countries. For them, "Targeted" is an invaluable resource.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Think of the implications, June 13, 2007
This review is from: Targeted: Homeland Security and the Business of Immigration (Paperback)
As a Mexican and a professional, I think this book is invaluable. Deepa Fernandes's level of understanding not only of the Mexican immigration phenomenon but of the crude and harrowing Mexican poors' reality is astonishing. Midwest Book Review states "Targeted will reach college-level holding". The U.S. should not let this book just freeze on colleges. This is a book to take action; immediate action.
Firstly, criminalizing otherwise innocent "non-citizens" (or non-citizens who have served time and purged any prior felony or crime), many of whom see themselves as Americans, is distorting the law and freedom of speech into crimes of hate and greed. Decent USAmericans (and I know they're majority) should think of the implications of the melting-pot being lost, the implications in science, technology and the arts, the implications on just accepting diversity, seeing the commonality instead of the differences.
Secondly, "Targeted" points out situations otherwise not though about by U.S. citizens. I used to think prison should be used to reform the prisoner when possible, or to keep them apart from society but in humane conditions. The privatization of the prison system is unconscionable. How will prison private owners, who think of the bottom line first, care or even want to know how to take care of other human beings in their prisons? This, to me, portrays the inequality and Class War by other means in U.S. system. As Greg Palast says: On one side there's the wealthy prison owners. On the other side there are the prisoners, often not sufficiently taken care of as guards are being kept scarce, and more than one has been stabbed by their charges.
Finally, Has anybody stopped to think seriously on the long-term implications? Why the rush in immigrant detainees (Black & Brown) deportations? Seems the rulers have everything planned. How do Blacks and Browns usually vote? It seems to me ACLU chapter and human-rights-for-immigrants groups in every U.S. state should Act Now to stop this disenfranchisement.
Why do I worry as a Mexican? Of course we Mexicans must be decent enough to create jobs for our jobless. However I think prolongation of the current U.S. unbalanced government will hurt us Mexicans still more than our people has been hurt to this date. It seems to me that factual, nor feigned, acceptance of diversity and the inherent legality of every human being must be accepted everywhere.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read for those who care about immigrants' rights, March 8, 2007
This review is from: Targeted: Homeland Security and the Business of Immigration (Paperback)
This book is well-researched and well-written. Fernandes is an investigative journalist, and thus does not give the deep, theoretical viewpoint of an academic. Nevertheless, this book really packs a punch and certainly opened my eyes to important realities. For example, a young Haitian man who came to the US when he was two was arrested for smoking a joint. After serving his 30 day sentence in the US, he was deported to Haiti, where, sadly, he will likely die in prison. This is just one of the many shocking stories Fernandes tells in her account, as she indicts US courts, policymakers, corporations, and the military for the humanitarian crisis that our current immigration policies cause.
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