Kevin Escudero – författare

Finalist, 2020 C. Wright Mills Award, given by the Society for the Study of Social ProblemsHonorable Mention, 2021 Asian America Section Book Award, given by the American Sociological Association An inspiring look inside immigrant youth's political activism in perilous times Undocumented immigrants in the United States who engage in social activism do so at great risk: the threat of deportation. In Organizing While Undocumented, Kevin Escudero shows why and how—despite this risk—many of them bravely continue to fight on the front lines for their rights. Drawing on more than five years of research, including interviews with undocumented youth organizers, Escudero focuses on the movement's epicenters—San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City—to explain the impressive political success of the undocumented immigrant community. He shows how their identities as undocumented immigrants, but also as queer individuals, people of color, and women, connect their efforts to broader social justice struggles today. A timely, worthwhile read, Organizing While Undocumented gives us a look at inspiring triumphs, as well as the inevitable perils, of political activism in precarious times.

Finalist, 2020 C. Wright Mills Award, given by the Society for the Study of Social ProblemsHonorable Mention, 2021 Asian America Section Book Award, given by the American Sociological Association An inspiring look inside immigrant youth's political activism in perilous times Undocumented immigrants in the United States who engage in social activism do so at great risk: the threat of deportation. In Organizing While Undocumented, Kevin Escudero shows why and how—despite this risk—many of them bravely continue to fight on the front lines for their rights. Drawing on more than five years of research, including interviews with undocumented youth organizers, Escudero focuses on the movement's epicenters—San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City—to explain the impressive political success of the undocumented immigrant community. He shows how their identities as undocumented immigrants, but also as queer individuals, people of color, and women, connect their efforts to broader social justice struggles today. A timely, worthwhile read, Organizing While Undocumented gives us a look at inspiring triumphs, as well as the inevitable perils, of political activism in precarious times.

Asian immigrants comprise over 10% of the national undocumented immigrant population and Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States today. Asian undocumented communities, alongside their Latinx and Black undocumented counterparts, have also emphasized the importance of their racial/ethnic identities alongside their immigrant legal status in their organizing. UndocuAsians tells the story of the contemporary US immigrant rights movement with a focus on Asian undocumented immigrant narratives drawing on personal reflections and research studies by self-identified undocuAsian organizers and scholars from Asian immigrant backgrounds. Topics discussed in the volume include activists’ navigation of racialized “illegality,” the importance of chosen and biological family, pathways in the pursuit of higher education, the role of faith communities in the lives of Asian undocumented immigrants, and healing. Combined, these essays provide a diverse portrait of the vibrant, powerful community of Asian undocumented immigrants today.