Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

 [Historia] New Book l Kevin R. Johnson l Opening the Floodgates l NYUPress l October 2007

Nota: We thank Dorinda Moreno for posting notice of this just released book on immigration by Kevin R. Johnson. The notice that follows as posted on the ImmigrationProf Blog; the link is provided below. We look forward to buying a copy and reading it and using it in our course on Mexican immigration next time around. Get your public and university libraries to purchase a copy for their shelves. You can also see and hear the inaugural Chapman Dialogues distinguishing visiting lecture series which Dean Kevin R. Johnson presented on September 20, 2007, at the Chapman University School of Law. The lecture's videotape is 1 hour and 23 minutes (as Q&A is included).
                                    To access the video click Here ..

October 5, 2007

New Book Release: Opening the Floodgates Why America Needs to Rethink its Borders and Immigration Laws (NYU Press 2007)

Opening_the_floodgates_2 Opening the Floodgates Why America Needs to Rethink its Borders and Immigration Laws Kevin R. Johnson

"Finally, an unflinching response to immigration alarmists! This brilliant, challenging book outlines an immigration proposal based on the reality that migration flows are not regulated by border enforcement but by social, economic, and political pressures." *Mary Romero, author of Maid in the USA View

Seeking to re-imagine the meaning and significance of the international border, Opening the Floodgates makes a case for eliminating the border as a legal construct that impedes the movement of people into this country. Open migration policies deserve fuller analysis, particularly on the eve of a presidential election. Kevin R. Johnson offers an alternative vision of how U.S. borders might be reconfigured, grounded in moral, economic, and policy arguments for open borders. Importantly, liberalizing migration through an open borders policy would recognize that the enforcement of closed borders cannot stifle the strong, perhaps irresistible, economic, social, and political pressures that fuel international migration. Controversially, Johnson suggests that open borders are entirely consistent with efforts to prevent terrorism that have dominated immigration enforcement since the events of September 11, 2001. More liberal migration, he suggests, would allow for full attention to be paid to the true dangers to public safety and national security.
CliCk Here

Kevin R. Johnson is Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicano/a Studies at the University of California Davis. His books include Mixed Race America and the Law: A Reader (NYU Press, 2002) and The Huddled Masses Myth: Immigration and Civil Rights.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments vii
1 A Call for Truly Comprehensive Immigration Reform 1
2 A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Law and Enforcement 45
3 Bordering on the Immoral: The Moral Consequences of the Current System of Immigration Regulation 87
4 The Economic Benefits of Liberal Migration of Labor Across Borders 131
5 Why Open Borders Are Good for All Americans 168
6 The Inevitability of Permeable Borders 200
Notes 213
Index 275
About the Author 289
Opening the Floodgates $35.00
Why America Needs to Rethink its Borders and Immigration Laws Kevin R. Johnson
ISBN 0814742866
304 pages
Cloth
Critical America Series
Release Date: 10/1/2007
NYU Press
838 Broadway, 3rd Floor
New York, New York 10003
1-800-996-6987
Tel: 212-998-2575
Fax: 212-995-3833
Link:

Chapman Hosts Dean Kevin Johnson at Inaugural Distinguished Visiting Lecture Series
On Thursday, September 20, 2007, the Chapman University School of Law hosted its inaugural Chapman Dialogues distinguished visiting lecture series with a presentation by Kevin R. Johnson, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Mabie-Appallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies at the University of California at Davis School of Law. More than 150 Chapman law faculty and students were in attendance.
Dean Johnson*s presentation was a preview of his soon-to-be-published book, *Opening the Floodgates: Why America Needs to Rethink its Border and Immigration Laws.* Dean Johnson spoke in favor of liberalizing the movement of people across national borders, particularly the U.S.-Mexico border, from the perspective of enhancing economic growth, fiscal policy, human rights and distributional fairness.
After Dean Johnson*s presentation, remarks were provided by two discussants from the Chapman law faculty, Dean John C. Eastman and Associate Dean Timothy A. Canova. Dean Eastman discussed the issue of immigration law and border policy from the perspective of citizenship and economics. He advocated both more enforcement of existing immigration laws as well as an increased guest worker program, which in combination would provide the labor demanded by U.S. industry and farms while also ensuring greater protection of labor standards for immigrant workers. Dean Canova then discussed the issues of immigration law and border policy in both a comparative and historical context, suggesting the need for greater public investment in infrastructure in Mexico and the United States, a NAFTA regional development program modeled after the European Union and the Marshall Plan period of U.S. history.
Following further discussion, the audience was invited to ask questions and provide commentary. The discussion highlighted the complex overlaps in positions between three differing perspectives, the liberal open borders argument of Dean Johnson, the citizenship perspective of Dean Eastman, and the economic development and reform perspective of Dean Canova. At the conclusion, Dean Johnson was presented with a Chapman clock as a gift from the Chapman law faculty.
The inaugural dialogue provided food for thought at this catered luncheon. Several Chapman law student groups co-sponsored Dean Johnson*s lecture, including the NeXus Journal of Opinion, the Immigration Law Society, the International Law Students Association, and the Minority Law Students Association.