Divided by the Wall Progressive and Conservative Immigration Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border

"An evocative portrait. . . . Divided by the Wall’s sharp insights into the overlapping rationales of white immigration activists make it an urgent and fresh analysis of a much-examined place."—New Mexico Historical Review

"This riveting book studies pro- and anti-immigrant stances together and mines the meanings of the juxtapositions. Its centering of government policies, especially policing, shows how profoundly the pro-immigration restriction positions attach themselves to the law, partly to wave away charges of racism. Conversely it shows how often and profoundly pro-immigrant groups array themselves against state power."—David R. Roediger, author of How Race Survived U.S. History?

"In this vivid ethnographic account of progressive and conservative activism at the Arizona border, Emine Fidan Elcioglu shows how these movements are about much more than immigration. She deftly illuminates how border activism is animated by gendered politics of whiteness and how privileged participants manage conflictual identities. This is a must read for anyone interested in immigration-focused movements and border issues."—Sharon Erickson Nepstad, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of New Mexico

"Deftly comparing the social composition, emotional motivations, and worldviews—especially with regard to the state—of activists on both sides of the immigration divide, Elcioglu makes a powerful contribution to the burgeoning ethnographic literature on white working-class nativism. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, her careful analysis illuminates the central political question of our time."—Ruth Milkman, author of Immigrant Labor and the New Precariat

"Who mobilizes for or against international migration in the United States? How and why they do so? What kind of experiences prompt them into action? Looking deeply and systematically, both to the right and to the left, Elcioglu unearths paradoxically opposing understandings of the state and dissects how these shared perceptions shape feelings and fears about others and how they sustain collective action. This is relational political ethnography at its best."—Javier Auyero, Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin