Aftermath

Reviews / Votes

"In Aftermath, Dan Kanstroom accomplishes the impossible: he disassembles the labyrinthine snarl of our immigration system in a volume that is both readable and scholarly, accessible and authoritative. Arguing compellingly against "government behavior and consequences we cannot and should not accept," he outlines a sensible, sane way forward. This book is ultimately a volume of hope that appeals to the American spirit of fair play and resoundingly demonstrates
that fairness can be, and is, pragmatic and enlightened self-interest. A must-read."--Ashley Judd, actor and human rights activist
"Daniel Kanstroom has written another remarkable book about the U.S. deportation system. Reading Aftermath is a must for anyone seriously interested in understanding the underbelly of contemporary US border control policy and the urgency of immigration reform."--Jacqueline Bhabha, Director of Research, Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University
"In this cogent, well-written and, at times, poignant work of scholarship, Daniel Kanstroom looks unflinchingly at the understudied issue of deportation's aftermath. No one interested in immigration policy will be unmoved by his deft unveiling of the injustices that routinely accompany the US's use of large-scale deportation. More than simply showing its problems, this work provides a convincing account of how the deportation system can be reformed to make it
less of an affront to basic principles of morality and legal fairness."--Matthew J. Gibney, University of Oxford
"Dan Kanstroom is among the most daring and inventive migration scholars writing today. Many studies of immigration law and policy start with the foreign national's arrival in the United States and end with her forced departure. But for nearly all individuals and families, life does not end with removal. Aftermath carries the story forward, rounding out the picture to include previously-overlooked narratives of life for those removed, those left behind, and
the enduring efforts of millions of households to preserve the ties that bind. It is a fair-minded and accessible book that lays bare the gross failings of our current deportation machinery, but also,
in illuminating experience in what Kanstroom terms "the new American diaspora," points to a way out of the terrible box we are now in."--Michael J. Wishnie, William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law, Yale Law School
"Here's an underappreciated book about a terribly important part of the nation's justice system. The author calls smartly 'for critical, thorough, humane analysis and reconceptuallization of a deportation system that has become shockingly large, unnecessarily harsh and, in many ways, dysfunctional.' This was a huge legal story in 2012. And it's going to be a huge political story in 2016 as the power of the Hispanic vote becomes more and more
pronounced."--Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic
"Bringing together rigorous legal research and poignant human stories, Aftermath offers a powerful and disturbing exploration of the current US deportation system and its effects in and beyond the United States."--Journal of Refugee Studies