What does it mean to be an illegal immigrant, or the child of immigrants, in this era of restrictive immigration laws in the United States? As lawmakers and others struggle to respond to the changing landscape of immigration, the effects of policies on people's daily lives are all too often overlooked.
In Everyday Illegal, author Joanna Dreby recounts the stories of children and parents in eighty-one families to show what happens when a immigration system emphasizes deportation over legalization.
Joanna Dreby is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University at Albany.