Professor B. Jones (he/him/his)
email: bsjjones@ucdavis.edu
Olson Hall 146, 2:10-3:30 PM
Office: Kerr Hall 573
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 12:15-1:30
Teaching Assistant:
Yusuf Benmira (ybenmira@ucdavis.edu)
Office hours: Wednesday 2:30-4:30 in Kerr Hall 577
Almost every aspect and feature of American society and politics has been shaped in some way by the issue of immigration. The subject is complicated and multi-faceted. I am a Political Scientist and this, of course, is a political science course; however, I think it is impossible to understand the issue of immigration without considering other disciplines that have examined the issue, disciplines including sociology, psychology, economics, anthropology, and history (among others). As such, this class will be eclectic in terms of exposing students to non-political science research. Given that we have but 10 weeks in the quarter–proper treatment of the immigration issue in the US could easily occupy a three-quarter sequence, I have to pick and choose the areas in which we will concern ourselves, without sacraficing important information undergirding US history. We will heavily focus, in this course, on the issue of “illegal” immigration, the rise of “illegality,” narratives associated with immigrants, and policies and politics of immigration.
Students are expected to attend and participate in course lectures. Meaningful participation implies that the material covered in the lecture has been read and thought through and the student has the ability to contribute to class discussions. We cover a lot of ground in this class and so falling behind could result in a sub-optimal performance, something we hope to avoid. As far as grading is concerned, there will be two detailed projects, one midterm exam, one final exam, and participation/attendance scoring.
Total grade is thus:
Two class assignments: 66% (33% each)
Exams (Midterm and Final done via Canvas): 20% (10% each)
Participation: 14%
Be advised the the 14% participation score is for real. I’ve had experiences where students assume they just “get” whatever the participation score is. This is false. I will occasionally and randomly check attendance using a QR code and survey and I will take account of who is contributing to class discussions and/or coming to office hours. If you are inclined to never come to class, I would anticipate a participation score being something far less than 14%. Given the importance of immigration, this is an essential course and one not to miss (I hope!).
There are two assigned books in this class: The Deportation Machine: America’s Long History of Expelling Migrants by Adam Goodman and Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. In addition to this, there are several assigned readings which are listed in the course itinerary below. It is essential that you complete these readings in advance of class.
Course assignments are due on the date given to you in class. Due dates are non-negotiable. All assignments will be submitted via Canvas. You are also required to become familiar with the UC Davis Code of Academic Conduct (http://sja.ucdavis.edu/cac.html). Cheating, plagiarism, or the use of AI for purposes of projects or exams or harassment in any form will not be tolerated. Do not do these things. Exams will be administered on Canvas and will be taken in a time-window that doesn’t encompass class. With respect to students with disabilities, students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. This request must be made well in advance of any exam or due dates.
Units from this course will partially fulfill the UCD Domestic Diversity requirement. This requirement states that the course “provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the social and cultural diversity of the United States and of the relationships between these diverse cultures and larger patterns of national history and institutions.”
At several points during the quarter, we will have a “meet the scholar” session where scholars whose work we have read will come into class (either in person or via Zoom) and discuss their work. This is an exciting opportunity to meet the actual scholars whose work you will read.
March 31: An illustrative story, an introduction, and an
overview
Readings:
Dudley, Steven and Silva Avalos. 2018. “MS13 in the Americas: How the World’s Most Notorious Gang Defies Logic, Resists Destruction.” (pages 12-21 are required, but many of you will want to read the full report). NIJ. The following link lands you to the summary. From here, download the full report. https://nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/ms13-americas-how-worlds-most-notorious-gang-defies-logic-resists-destruction
April 2: How we got here and the battle for Los Angeles + Meet the Scholar Series #1: Kevin R. Johnson, Mabie-Apallas Distinguished Professor of Law, Director of the Aoki Center, and Professor of Chicana/o Studies, UC Davis Readings:
Johnson, Kevin R. 2026. “The Trump Administration’s Racial Dragnet: Immigration Enforcement in Los Angeles.” SMU Law Review. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5847904
O’Herron, Margy. 2025. “Big Budget Act Creates a”Deportation-Industrial Complex”.” Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/big-budget-act-creates-deportation-industrial-complex
Lett, Dominik. 2026. “The One Big Beautiful Bill Made ICE Shutdown-Proof and Eroded Fiscal Norms.” The Cato Institute. https://www.cato.org/blog/one-big-beautiful-bill-made-ice-shutdown-proof-eroded-fiscal-norms
Patler, Caitlin and Bradford Jones. 2025. “The US Deportation System: History, Impacts, and New Empirical Research.” Russell Sage Journal for the Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2025.11.4.01
April 7: Contested citizenship and immigration politics: birthright citizenship and Trump v. Barbara discussion Readings:
United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898; case summary) https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/united-states-v-wong-kim-ark-1898
Howe, Amy. 2026. “The key arguments in the birthright citizenship case.” https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/03/the-key-arguments-in-the-birthright-citizenship-case/
Amicus curiae briefs by social scientists/immigration scholars (PDFs posted on Canvas).
Brief amici curiae of Citizenship Law Scholars filed.
Brief amici curiae of The Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies at The University of California, et al. filed.
Brief amici curiae of Professors Caitlin Patler, et al. filed.
All briefs can be found here: https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/trump-v-barbara/
April 9: Creation of the deportation machine: early restrictive immigration action and Asians and Mexicans Readings:
Goodman, Introduction and chapter 1.
Ngai, Introduction and chapter 1.
April 14: Bracero, Operation Wetback, and the visions of the future
Readings:
Goodman, Chapter 2.
Ngai, Chapter 4.
April 16: 1965 and the creation of the “Illegal Immigrant” and immigrant threat narratives
Readings:
Johnson, Kevin R. 2013. “The Beginning of the End: The Immigration Act of 1965 and the Emergence of the Modern U.S.-Mexico Border State.” Immigration and Nationality Law Review. 34(3): 3-70. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2362478
Massey, Douglas S. and Karen A. Pren. 2012. “Unintended Consequences of U.S. Immigration Policy: Explaining the Post-1965 Surge From Latin America.” Population and Development Review. 38: 1-29. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2012.00470.x
April 21: The immigrant criminality and threat narratives more generally + Meet the Scholar Series #2: Giovanni Peri, C. Bryan Cameron Distinguished Professor in International Economics at the University of California, Davis and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts and founder and Director of the UC Davis Global Migration Center
Readings:
Goodman, Chapter 4
Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina, Thitima Puttitanun and Ana P Martinez-Donate. 2019. “Deporting”Bad Hombres”? The Profile of Deportees under Widespread Versus Prioritized Enforcement.” International Migration Review. 53(2):518-47. https://doi.org/10.1177/0197918318764901
Hines, Annie Laurie and Giovanni Peri. 2019. “Immigrants’ Deportations, Local Crime and Police Effectiveness.” IZA Discussion Paper No. 12413. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3408311.
Ascherio, Marta. “Do Sanctuary Policies Increase Crime? Contrary Evidence from a County-Level Investigation in the United States.” Social Science Research 106 (2022): 102743. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X22000497
Ferris, Emily M and Heather Silber Mohamed. 2018. “Picturing Immigration: How the Media Criminalizes Immigrants.” Politics of Groups and Identities 6(4):814-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2018.1484375
April 23: No class
April 28: The business of immigration + Meet the Scholar Series #3: Adam Goodman, Associate professor in the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies and (by courtesy) the Department of History at the University of Illinois Chicago. Readings:
Goodman, Chapter 3
April 30: Emergency Lecture on Voting Rights Act
May 5: Muslim and Arab Americans featuring guest scholar Nazita Lajerverdi, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University Readings:
Nazita Lajevardi, Kassra Oskooii, and Hannah Walker. “Hate, Amplified? Social Media News Consumption and Anti-Muslim Policy Support.” Journal of Public Policy 42.4 (2022): 656-683. DOI: 10.1017/s0143814x22000083
Nazita Lajevardi. “The Media Matters: Muslim American Portrayals and Effects on Mass Attitudes.” The Journal of Politics 83.3 (2021): 1060-1079. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/711300
Nazita Lajevardi, Kassra Oskooii, Muniba Saleem, and Meagan Docherty. “In the Shadow of September 11: The Roots and Ramifications of Anti-Muslim Attitudes in the United States.” Political Psychology 45 (2024): 87-118. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12943
May 12: Discussion of Project 1
May 14: Psychological theories of dehumanization and how they apply to immigration and immigrants Readings:
Kteily N, Landry A. 2022. “Dehumanization: trends, insights, and challenges.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2022; 26, 222-240 https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(21)00311-9
D.M. Markowitz, & P. Slovic. 2020. “Social, psychological, and demographic characteristics of dehumanization toward immigrants.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117 (17) 9260-9269, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921790117 (2020).
McCubbins, A., & Ramirez, M. D. 2023. “The effects of dehumanizing language on public opinion toward federal and”for-profit” immigrant detention. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 11(2), 409–424. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2021.1979341
Utych, S. M. (2018). How Dehumanization Influences Attitudes toward Immigrants. Political Research Quarterly, 71(2), 440-452. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912917744897
May 19: Some implications of immigration policy for immigrant health and well-being. Our Meet-the-scholar(s) session picks up again with Gabriel Sanchez, University of New Mexico and Edward Vargas, Arizona State University Readings:
Paola Langer, Caitlin Patler, and Erin R. Hamilton. 2024. “Adverse Infant Health Outcomes Increased After the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election Among Non-White U.S.-born and Foreign-born Mothers.” Demography 61 (4): 1211–1239.
Alein Y. Haro-Ramos, Gabriel R. Sanchez, and Matt A. Barreto. 2024. “Health Care Discrimination and Immigration Fears: Unpacking COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Latino Adults.” American Journal of Public Health 114, S505_S509, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307668
Vargas ED, Sanchez GR, Juárez M. 2017. “Fear by Association: Perceptions of Anti-Immigrant Policy and Health Outcomes.” J Health Polit Policy Law. 2017 Jun;42(3):459-483. doi: 10.1215/03616878-3802940.
Vargas, E. D., Juárez, M., Sanchez, G. R., & Livaudais, M. (2019). “Latinos’ connections to immigrants: how knowing a deportee impacts Latino health.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(15), 2971–2988. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1447365
May 21: Separation, incarceration, detention, and deportation Readings:
Mitra Naseh, Yingying Zeng, Eunhye Ahn, Flora Cohen, Mustafa Rfat. 2024. “Mental Health Implications of Family Separation Associated with Migration Policies in the United States: A Systematic Review.” Social Science & Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116995.
Saadi A, Patler C, Langer P. 2025. “Duration in Immigration Detention and Health Harms.” JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(1):e2456164. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.56164
**May 26: Guest expert, Jose Vazquez
**May 28
Saadi A, De Trinidad Young ME, Patler C, Estrada JL, Venters H. “Understanding US Immigration Detention: Reaffirming Rights and Addressing Social-Structural Determinants of Health. Health Hum Rights. 2020 Jun;22(1):187-197. PMID: 32669800; PMCID: PMC7348446.