The Legal Violence in the 2017 Executive Orders: The Expansion of Immigrant Criminalization in Kansas

In the past two decades, the trend toward immigrant criminalization has increased dramatically. Drawing on analysis of recent immigration-related Executive Orders as well as interviews with Latino immigrants in Kansas, we argue that these expanded forms of immigrant criminalization amount to legal violence, with an unprecedented reach. Our focus on Kansas, a state that has not been at the forefront of anti-immigration laws like other states have, demonstrates this new reach. Our research demonstrates that the hypercriminalized immigration regime has direct implications for the everyday lives of immigrants.