Of the many issues polarizing societies today, immigration is one of the most contentious. In the United States, as in Europe, immigration was a defining issue in recent national elections. Immigration not only involves government policies but also the human rights of millions of people. American Presidents, Deportations, and Human Rights Violations studies how recent immigration policies in the United States developed during the Obama administration and are now being expanded in the first months of the Trump presidency. Documenting the harsh treatment of immigrants over the past twenty years, Bill Ong Hing shows how mass detention and deportation of immigrants, from Clinton's two terms and the Bush administration, have escalated even higher. This book questions what price the United States is willing to pay for such harsh immigration policies in terms of our national values, and the impact on the lives of the millions of immigrants who deserve the full protection of universal human rights obligations.

‘In this tour de force, Bill Ong Hing critically analyzes the immigration records of American Presidents from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump, with a particular focus on the harsh treatment of immigrants during the presidency of Barack Obama; often thought of as a friend of immigrants. With stories of the harsh treatment of the immigrants themselves, American Presidents, Deportations, and Human Rights Violations reveals the cruel realities of American immigration policy, which President Trump has taken to new and frightening heights.'

Kevin R. Johnson - Dean, University of California, Davis School of Law

‘Through the lens of unaccompanied migrant children experiences, Bill Ong Hing unearths the infrastructure laid out by the previous six presidential administrations on which the Trump administration has built its enforcement policies. In lucid, engaging prose seeped with humanity, Ong Hing makes accessible a wealth of legal knowledge interspersed with vivid stories in the immigrants' own voices, in the process offering possibilities for action. The result is a powerful tour de force that should be of interest to anyone who cares about immigrants, law, and justice. Highly recommended!'

Cecilia Menjívar - Dorothy Meier Endowed Chair, Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles

‘Bill Ong Hing's timely work assesses contemporary immigration enforcement policies within a rich historical framework. Lawyers and legal scholars will learn from Ong Hing's expert legal analysis, but his frank prose also ensures that this work will be accessible to scholars across disciplines and to policy makers interested in taking on the injustices of the current system.'

Jennifer M. Chacón - Chancellor's Professor of Law, University of Califorania, Irvine School of Law

‘Remarkably knowledgeable about immigration history and on-the-ground practice, Bill Ong Hing lets no one off the hook – not Clinton, not Bush, not Obama, not Trump – for the trauma the US has imposed on immigrants and immigrant communities. Have the courage to read what Ong Hing writes, precisely because you'll feel as enraged as you are sad, perhaps because then we'll rise up to declare the status quo downright immoral, often illegal, and utterly unacceptable.'

Gerald P. López - author of Rebellious Lawyering: One Chicano's Vision of Progressive Law Practice

'A timely and invaluable contribution to our national discussion on immigration issues, American Presidents, Deportations, and Human Rights Violations should have as wide a readership as possible.'

James A. Cox Source: Midwest Book Review

‘The book offers a moral urgency about the human rights violations embedded in U.S. immigration policies over the last 50 years. It will resonate within and beyond the academy: for lawyers, law students, political scientists, and policymakers. The book is accessible to college students and advocates.’

Source: Law and Politics Book Review (www.lpbr.net)