PRAISE FOR Banned
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"This meticulously argued work succeeds in illuminating with plain language what the immigration system obscures behind jargon and steel bars." ~STARRED Library Journal
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“Now more than ever we need experts such as Professor Shoba Wadhia to make sense of the senseless immigration policies put forth by the Trump administration. Banned combines thoughtful analysis of immigration law and policy with insightful case studies and interviews, culminating in a powerful reminder of the human toll taken on individuals and families caught in the crossfire of prejudice and fear. Banned is a clarion call to reassert humane immigration policy as a core American value.” – Chris Coons, United States Senator
“Banned presents a fascinating discussion of the significant immigration policy changes undertaken by the Trump administration, from the Muslim Travel Ban to Asylum and Detention issues. Having represented individuals subject to the travel ban, I have personally seen the tragedies caused by an inhumane and discriminatory policy. Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia shines a bright light on the depth of the drastic changes being made to a country founded by and for immigrants.” – Mahsa Khanbabai, Khanbabai Immigration Law
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“Banned is a significant witness to this unprecedented time in immigration policy.” – William Stock, Founding Partner, Klasko Immigration Law Partners and Past President, American Immigration Lawyers Association
“Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia is an ideal chronicler of how the architecture of immigration law has dramatically changed under the Trump Administration. After the Muslim ban was announced, Wadhia became an indispensable part of the network of lawyers and activists who mobilized in response. In Banned, Wadhia uses accessible language and a community-centered approach to explain the impact of the Muslim ban, family separation, temporary protected status, and other immigration policies on the daily lives of people. Banned is a vital resource for activists, organizers, lawyers, and practitioners seeking to better understand the current political moment.” - Deepa Iyer
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“Banned is a thoughtful look at the immigration initiatives of the Trump administration. Shoba Wadhia critically examines immigration enforcement and the exercise of discretion in immigration matters by the new administration... Banned is a definite “must read” for anyone interested in what perhaps has been one of the most rapid periods of change in immigration enforcement ever.” - Kevin R. Johnson, Dean, School of Law, and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicanx Studies, University of California, Davis
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“What President Trump did not count on was that the resistance would include the sharp eye and careful pen wielded by the erstwhile Shoba Wadhia, in her splendid work, Banned, Professor Wadhia is the best counterpoint to the President, as she has gathered all the evidence of his political perfidy, and has shown clearly how his attempts to upend international norms have failed to gain traction.” – Michael A. Olivas, author of No Undocumented Child Left Behind: Plyler v. Doe and the Education of Undocumented Children
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“From separating families to banning Muslims to countless other cruelties, President Trump has claimed an almost limitless power to banish immigrants and refugees from our land. The nation’s leading expert on immigration enforcement eloquently exposes the illegality of these policies and their devastating impact on immigrant and refugee families.” – Stephen H. Legomsky, John S. Lehmann University Professor Emeritus, Washington University in St Louis School of Law, former Chief Counsel, US Citizenship & Immigration Services.
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Editorial Reviews of Beyond Deportation
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“In Beyond Deportation, Wadhia has managed to combine meticulous research, scholarly rigor, easy readability, and an intense human compassion in highlighting one of the most volatile issues of our time. With amazing ease, she takes on immigration, the rule of law, and the role of executive branch discretion in tempering our harsh deportation laws with humanitarian restraint and a common sense stewardship of our limited enforcement resources. For immigrants and their families, and for all who care about law and justice, this is a powerful and compelling story, eloquently told.”
-Stephen Legomsky, John S. Lehmann University Professor, Washington University in St. Louis
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"The definitive word on the all-important tool of prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement. Wadhia traces the fascinating history of the exercise of such discretion under U.S. immigration law, which includes careful study of the famous case of John Lennon and Yoko Ono through to the use of such discretion in President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Rather than simply describing the history, Beyond Deportation offers concrete recommendations about prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement, including greater transparency in decisionmaking and rules that limit government attorneys in the exercise of discretion. Wadhia has written an important analysis of the most significant positive immigration development of the Obama administration."
-Kevin R. Johnson,University of California, Davis
“When there are more than 11 million people eligible for deportation, something is seriously wrong with our immigration system and our enforcement system, but Congress has so far refused to legislate and advance immigration reform. This inaction forces enforcement agencies to prioritize and make choices about who they will deport first and whose deportation they will defer so that we can focus on removing those who pose a risk to our public safety. This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of this basic truth in American law and immigration policy. The fact that this issue is at the center of the debate over immigration reform right now because the House of Representatives refuses to reform the current system, makes this work timely and incredibly helpful for scholars, students, policymakers, and leaders.”
-Luis V. Gutiérrez,U.S. House of Representatives
“Beyond Deportation is a compelling and thoughtful account of the history of the use of prosecutorial discretion in US immigration law and policy, and how that history continues to shape today’s immigration programs.”
-Margaret D. Stock,author of Immigration Law and the Military
“This timely review of immigration prosecutorial discretion will be very valuable to those interested in immigration law. Wadhia gives a detailed description of the different forms such discretion can take, with a particular emphasis on deferred action, including President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)….The book is an essential resource for researchers wishing to study deferred action prior to and immediately after the introduction of DACA. Summing Up: Highly recommended.”
-Choice
“The book examines how prosecutorial discretion interacts with the resource constraints of government agencies alongside immigrants’ humanitarian circumstances. It expands understandings of how 'deferred action,' a significant form of prosecutorial discretions, is employed by non-citizens as a protective tool from deportation.”
- International Migration Review
“With Beyond Deportation, Wadhia has simultaneously created a short, accessible, and comprehensive primer on prosecutorial discretion in immigration while raising profound questions on the usage and evolution of this tool into one that is more transparent, humanitarian, and just.”
-Border Criminologies