image of Patrisia Macías-Rojas

Patrisia Macías-Rojas

Scholar and author Patrisia Macías-Rojas will present at the next International Seminar Series at noon Wednesday, October 24, in the Old Main Room of the Bone Student Center. She will deliver the talk “From Deportation to Prison: The Politics of Immigration Enforcement in Post-Civil Rights in America.”

Macías-Rojas is an assistant professor in sociology and Latin American and Latin studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests are in the areas of race, law, and migration. Her current work focuses on the politics surrounding the criminalization, deportation, detention, and incarceration of immigrants on the U.S.–Mexico border.

Macías-Rojas studies the effects of “tough on crime” approaches to immigration control on the everyday practices of Border Patrol agents, local law enforcement, civil and human rights advocates, and migrants and residents of predominantly Latina/o border communities. More broadly, her research examines historical, economic, and political links between the immigration and criminal justice systems.

Her recent book, From Deportation to Prison: The Politics of Immigration Enforcement in Post-Civil Rights America (New York University Press, 2016) analyzes how the politics and policies of civil rights reforms and mass incarceration gave rise to the punitive turn in immigration and border enforcement.  From Deportation to Prison won the 2017 Oliver Cromwell Cox book award from the American Sociological Association’s Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities.

The International Seminar Series offers the Illinois State campus and Bloomington-Normal communities weekly opportunities to learn about a wide range of international topics. Guest speakers are usually experts in their fields across a range of disciplines who cover a wide array of cultural, historical, political, and social topics.

International Seminar Series events are free and open to the public and occur every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. in the Bone Student Center. The fall 2018 series will focus on immigration. For a full schedule, see the Office of International Studies website.