Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities

The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond

Alvaro Huerta - Contributions by José Z. Calderón; Juan Gómez-Quiñones and Joaquin Montes Huerta

A collection of short essays and stories, Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities: The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond focuses on one of the most vilified, demonized, and scapegoated groups in the United States: Latina/o immigrants. Using his rigorous academic training, public policy knowledge, and community activist background, as well as his personal and familial experiences as the son of Mexican immigrants, Alvaro Huerta defends and humanizes los de abajo / those on the bottom. He skillfully re-frames how Latina/o immigrants should be viewed as productive and important members in this country, debunking the xenophobic tropes, lies, and myths about Latina/o immigrants as criminals, social burdens, and national security threats. Accompanied by the brilliant art of an internationally acclaimed artist, Salomon Huerta, and powerful photos of two established photographers, this book also investigates intersectional issues related to race, class, place, and state violence.

Hamilton Books

Pages: 222 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-7127-9 • Paperback • June 2019 • $26.99 • (£19.99)

978-0-7618-7128-6 • eBook • June 2019 • $25.50 • (£19.99)

Subjects: Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Hispanic American Studies, Social Science / Emigration & Immigration, Political Science / Public Policy / Immigration, Biography & Autobiography / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / Hispanic & Latino

Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities

The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond

Paperback

eBook

Summary

A collection of short essays and stories, Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities: The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond focuses on one of the most vilified, demonized, and scapegoated groups in the United States: Latina/o immigrants. Using his rigorous academic training, public policy knowledge, and community activist background, as well as his personal and familial experiences as the son of Mexican immigrants, Alvaro Huerta defends and humanizes los de abajo / those on the bottom. He skillfully re-frames how Latina/o immigrants should be viewed as productive and important members in this country, debunking the xenophobic tropes, lies, and myths about Latina/o immigrants as criminals, social burdens, and national security threats. Accompanied by the brilliant art of an internationally acclaimed artist, Salomon Huerta, and powerful photos of two established photographers, this book also investigates intersectional issues related to race, class, place, and state violence.

Details

Hamilton Books

Pages: 222 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-7127-9 • Paperback • June 2019 • $26.99 • (£19.99)

978-0-7618-7128-6 • eBook • June 2019 • $25.50 • (£19.99)

Subjects: Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Hispanic American Studies, Social Science / Emigration & Immigration, Political Science / Public Policy / Immigration, Biography & Autobiography / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / Hispanic & Latino

Author

Alvaro Huerta holds a joint faculty appointment in urban & region planning and ethnic & women’s studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He’s the author of the book Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate: Towards a Humanistic Paradigm.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Foreword by Dr. José Z. Calderón

Introduction by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Brief History Notes on Mexican Immigration to the U.S.
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. La Realidad: The Realities of Anti-Mexicanism—A Paradigm
By Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones
1. Immigration Should be a Basic Human Right
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. The Day I Learned I was Poor and Mexican
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Once Ashamed of My Mexican Parents, but not Anymore
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. A Chicana/o Manifesto on Community Organizing: Reflections of a Scholar-Activist
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. “Just Say No” to Senate’s “Gang of Eight” Immigration Bill
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. No White Christmas for Brown Immigrants
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Lessons on Community Organizing in Chicana/o Communities: Educate, Agitate & Organize
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Socioeconomic Inequality Impacting Marginalized Communities Must Change
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Republican Leaders Will Regret Attacking Latina/o Immigrants
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Scaremongering Over Child Refugees is Deplorable
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Without Hope, Blacks and Latinas/os Will Take to the Streets
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. El Robo: In Memory of My Mexican Mother
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. La Pistola: In Memory of My Mexican Father
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Lessons My Mexican Father Taught Me
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. The Day My Mexican Father Met Cesar Chavez
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. A Chicana/o Love Story: Tribute to a Wise and Beautiful Chicana
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Trump’s Racist Comments Help Democrats in the Future
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. New Republican Xenophobic Policies Will Inevitably Backfire
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Trump Exemplifies True Colors of GOP
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan Symbolizes White Privilege
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. City of Los Angeles Should Regulate Street Vendors
By Joaquin Montes Huerta and Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Saturday Night Live Must Dump GOP Candidate Donald J. Trump
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. U.S. Courts Maintain Undocumented Immigrants in the Shadows
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. The Shameful Case of Latino Republican Leaders: Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Republican Policies and Christian Values: Inherent Contradictions?
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. An Open Letter to Candidate Clinton on Trouncing Trump in the General Election
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Urban Planners Unite Against Trump
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. The Hustler: Trump and the Mean Streets of East Los Angeles
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. An Open Letter to President Donald J. Trump: Confessions of an “Anchor Baby”
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. The Hustler 2.0: President Trump
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. An Open Letter to Gov. Jerry Brown on California Becoming a Sanctuary State
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. The “War on Immigrants”: Racist Policies in the Era of Trump
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. On the Chicana/o Moratorium of 1970 and the Case of Ruben Salazar
By Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones
1. Advocating for the Immigrant Domestic Workforce
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. President Barack Obama Should’ve Halted Mass Deportations
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Demanding a Clean DACA Bill, Now!
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. No Deal on “Sh*thole” Border Wall!
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Viva the Scholar-Activist!
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. In Memory of My Beloved Brother: Noel “Nene” Huerta
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. Trump Epitomizes America’s History of Anti-Mexicanism
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. A Call for Urban Planning Latina/o Faculty: In Memory of Dr. Leo Estrada
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta
1. I Am Not Your “Wetback”
By Dr. Alvaro Huerta

Conclusion by Dr. Alvaro Huerta

Works Cited

Index

About the Author

About the Contributors

Reviews

A passionate and insightful account of that complex condition we refer to as immigration. Huerta brings to the fore the deeper meanings of us all, people on the move.
— Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and Co-Chairs Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…," cries the Statue of Liberty with silent lips. Alvaro Huerta's compassionate essays complete her sentence. The message is loud and clear: "the wretched have a place in America, for it is they who make it worth."
— Ilan Stavans, Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture, Amherst College

We want to know Huerta’s parents, don glasses that allow, as reading these editorials, essays, and thought pieces encourages, a relationship to real people and real issues. As Cesar Chavez would say or ask, to paraphrase, what could be more right than to honor the labor and contributions of those who bring food to the table so that we all might eat?
— Deena J. González, Provost and Senior Vice President, Gonzaga University

Alvaro Huerta's book brings the immigration issue back to earth. Aside from being an excellent scholar, he is an activist who encapsulates the Left's voice in the immigration debate. This book synthesizes the more progressive currents of the debate and is a must-read for anyone seeking a just and lasting solution.
— Rodolfo F. Acuña, Professor Emeritus of Chicana and Chicano Studies, California State University, Northridge

Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities

The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond

Alvaro Huerta - Contributions by José Z. Calderón; Juan Gómez-Quiñones and Joaquin Montes Huerta

Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities

The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond

ALSO AVAILABLE