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The Myth of the "Bad" Immigrant

A car windshield with the hashtag "liberation not deportation" painted on it
Too often, our immigration system is used as a tool of discrimination and oppression, rather than as a tool of justice, and the consequences are dire.
A car windshield with the hashtag "liberation not deportation" painted on it
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September 11, 2020

Immigrant communities are often asked to “get right with the law,” but is the law right in the first place? That’s what Alina Das asks in her new book, No Justice in the Shadows. She delves into her experience as the daughter of immigrants, an immigration attorney, and a clinical law professor to explore the intersection of immigration and the criminal justice system.

Too often, she argues, our immigration system is used as a tool of discrimination and oppression, rather than as a tool of justice, and the consequences are dire. Our current immigration system is breaking up families, and forcing people to face persecution — even death — in their home countries, and it’s all based on a false premise of ensuring public safety and national security.

Das joins At Liberty this week to discuss her book, and how we need to fundamentally reenvision the immigration agencies in our country, which she says are ultimately charged with enforcing laws rooted in white supremacy.

The Myth of the "Bad" Immigrant

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