Description
Book SynopsisThrough stories and thoughtful analysis, this book shows how migration and U.S. immigration detention harms the future of immigrant children and their parents.For decades, the United States has used detention to control immigration. Through Iceboxes and Kennels traces the rise of family migration from Central America and why the U.S. incarcerated and separated thousands of children and parents. Zayas argues that answers are found in U.S. history. The book takes the reader across the licensing of detention centers in Texas as licensed childcare facilities, holding of teenage immigrants in residential treatment centers, and the full scope of the Family Separation Policy of 2018 that unleashed a national outcry. With a storyteller''s ability and from sources as varied as history, politics, and psychology, Zayas identifies four stages in Central American migration-pre-migration forces that push people from their homes; mid-migration journeys fraught with hunger, violence, and pain; detention in cold rooms, cages, and jails; and the post-detention period of settlement and adjustment. In chapter after chapter, Zayas tells the stories-sometimes harrowing, always riveting-told to him by children and parents. Like epic narratives, there are villains and heroes, honesty and betrayal, and moments of abject desperation and of soaring valor. The book shows readers just how damaging detention is to the developing child''s brain, body, and mental health. At once alarming and optimistic, Through Iceboxes and Kennels reveals the endurance of parents insistent on bringing their children to safety and security, and the inspiring gallantry of children, parents, and strangers. It is a book for those who want to understand the urgency of immigration reform and the need for humane policies and practices.
Trade ReviewLuis Zayas captures the stories of immigrant mothers and children in heart-rending detail, while also sharing his own hesitation and humility in the face of unimaginable suffering and stunning courage. In this book, he offers a strategic and thoughtful guide for reimagining a respectful and dignified reception of immigrants on our southern border and in our communities. * Marsha Griffin, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine *
In Through Iceboxes and Kennels, Luis Zayas provides the public an unparalleled account of the experiences of asylum-seeking Central American families caught up in our immigration enforcement system—their suffering, resilience, and complex inter-generational dynamics. The book documents the lasting harm of our country's immigration policies, and to move beyond temporary outrage at news headlines to a deeper understanding of the challenges we face, as a nation, in treating migrant families with the compassion and respect they deserve. * Nina Rabin, JD, Director, Immigrant Family Legal Clinic, UCLA School of Law *
Collectively, we must reckon with the brutal treatment of children and families in our immigration system. By artfully weaving together beautiful and tragic stories from people stuck in a labyrinthine system and clinical analysis of trauma, Zayas leaves readers no choice but to reevaluate everything they know about immigration and families. Through Iceboxes and Kennels is for anyone who wants to understand the plight of children and families in our asylum system and beyond. * Jeremy Slack, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas, El Paso *
Through Iceboxes and Kennels offers an incisive analysis of the toll immigration enforcement takes. Zayas presents a poignant and compassionate account of asylum-seeking families detained and sometimes separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. He carefully situates the suffering endured before leaving their communities of origin and while in transit to the U.S. in the context of structural factors. A must-read for immigration scholars, advocates, policy makers, students, and mental health professionals. * Ana Martinez-Donate, PhD, Professor of Community Health and Prevention, Drexel University *
This book tells powerful stories of Central American families undertaking perilous journeys to seek asylum in the U.S. They are stories of trauma and suffering, but also of strength and resilience. It is an essential reading for understanding one of the most urgent human rights challenges of our time. * Emily Ryo, JD, Professor of Law and Sociology, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California *
Essential. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers. * Choice *
Table of ContentsA Note on Names and Terms Introduction PART I: The State of Affairs Chapter 1: The Poet, Heroic Mothers, and Cash Cows Chapter 2: Ordeals and Histories of Immigration Chapter 3: I Didn't Sign Up for This Chapter 4: Detention as Licensed Child Care, Texas-Style Chapter 5: Take the Children, Age Doesn't Matter. Chapter 6: Hiding Boys in Therapeutic Detention PART II: The Human Costs Chapter 7: Studying Families, Hearing Their Stories Chapter 8: Stages of Central American Immigration Chapter 9: Stress, Trauma, and Children's Development Chapter 10: I Need to Tell My Story, Too Chapter 11: Sleepless Under the Bridge in El Paso Chapter 12: A Mother's Self-Doubt, A Child's Hunger Chapter 13: Sufrir, Sufrimiento, and Hallucinating the Invisible Killer Girl Chapter 14: Four Generations of Mothers and Daughters Chapter 15: All That Comes After About the Contributors Acknowledgements References Index
