S1. Ep5. Facing Deportation: A Game of Cat and Mouse Immigration and Democracy

Deportation is when a country takes measures to remove a foreign national from its territory. It's something faced by criminal fugitives, but also by refugees fleeing persecution who are apprehended at the border, Dreamers studying at the nation’s best colleges, and probably some nice guys you’d run into at your local bodega. Today, we talk to a team of academics who are part of a new international research collaborative, Life Facing Deportation, about what we do and don’t know about forced returns in the U.S. and Central America. We start off the conversation with an unlikely story of detention and return. Santos explains why, real crime to him is not crossing a border without permission, but failing to respond to his family’s acute humanitarian need. If deportation serves as a way of marking the boundaries of belonging in nation states, is it possible to envision a democracy without deportation?

In this series, we bring you fresh knowledge and insight from the team at the Immigration Initiative at Harvard, led by our Director, Professor Roberto G. Gonzales, and featuring voices from the field. Join us as we get to know our neighbors through their stories.

This podcast is hosted by Dr Jennifer Allsopp and produced by Xiren Wang and Dr Jennifer Allsopp.