The immigration crucible : transforming race, nation, and the limits of the law / Philip Kretsedemas.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [183]-204) and index.

Introduction: an untimely intervention on the U.S. immigration debate: puzzling evidence: the contradictions of immigration enforcement and the politics of immigration policy; immigrants and state power: on the margins of the law -- A different kind of immigration, a new kind of statelessness -- The secret life of the state -- Concerned citizens, local exclusions: local immigration laws and the legacy of Jim Crow -- Race, nation, immigration: stranded at the crossroads of liberal thought -- Conclusion: the immigration crucible: immigration policy and enforcement under the Obama Administration; immigration policy, national identity, and the limits of executive authority.