Clandestine Crossings: Migrants and Coyotes on the Texas-Mexico Border
"In this path-breaking book, David Spener investigatescoyotaje—the strategies and practices employed by those ('coyotes') whom migrants hire to help them enter the United States clandestinely—as no other author has, in order to shed valuable light on the experiences of Mexican men and women compelled to cross illegally given the impossibility of obtaining US government authorization."—Joseph Nevins,Journal of Latin American Studies(2011)"When it comes to the Mexico-U.S. border and the people who cross it, no one knows the facts on the ground better than David Spener. I learned a tremendous amount fromClandestine Crossings—and I've been studying Mexican immigration for thirty years! In its combination of historical context, ethnographic detail, and hard fact the book is unmatched. It should be required reading for legislators in Washington and the citizens who elect them.Clandestine Crossingseffectively destroys all the myths and misinformation surrounding international migration in North America."—Douglas S. Massey, Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, author ofBeyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexico-U.S. Migration in an Age of Economic Integration"Clandestine Crossingsis both instructive and provocative in the best sense of the word. David Spener's highly unique and important research and analysis will prompt a great deal of interest and deep engagement from readers in migration studies, border studies, and Chicano/a studies, as well as in anthropology, geography, political science, and sociology. There may be no one else in a position to combine the skills and knowledge that Spener has brought to this project with his willingness and ability to challenge hegemonic notions of coyotes and coyotaje—and, by extension, the U.S. boundary-enforcement apparatus. This book deserves as wide an audience as possible: what it has to offer is not only fascinating and unique but also of great importance."—Joseph Nevins, Vassar College, author ofDying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in an Age of Global Apartheid"Clandestine Crossingsis a magnificent contribution to the understanding of surreptitious migrant border crossings at the southwestern border. David Spener puts faces and voices to social statistics and shows how migration and coyotes have developed together as Mexican workers struggle to find work in el norte in the context of increasingly restrictive border policies. Spener's years of field research and keen sociological skills make him uniquely qualified to analyze the social-cultural phenomenon of coyotaje at the U.S.-Mexico border."—Nestor P. Rodriguez, The University of Texas at Austin"Readers all over the world will be interested in how David Spener analyzes human smugglers. His clearly written, well-organized, and vivid argument for understanding coyotaje as a process made of relations will have a significant impact on migration studies. The data are rich and interesting: Spener was able to learn an impressive amount about coyotes, considering the hidden nature of their work."—Josiah McC. Heyman, University of Texas at El Paso, author ofLife and Labor on the Border: Working People of Northeastern Sonora, Mexico, 1886–1986