Intimate Migrations

"[A] wonderful book that demonstrates that combining interviews with participant observation—and doing it well—can produce multiple benefits....There is a lot to learn from this timely book, and it should be read widely. I particularly recommend it to anyone interested in immigrant families, immigration law, citizenship, and families in general, but its appeal should go beyond academia. This book would be ideal for helping politicians and pundits to understand that political decisions regarding immigration law have broad and deep consequences, often beyond the territory in which laws are enacted."-Cecilia Menjivar,Journal of Latin American Studies

"Intimate Migrations explores the human side of immigration, vividly portraying everyday lives on both sides of the U.S./Mexican border. Drawing on interviews and field work in Albuquerque and the small rancho of San Marcos in San Luis Potosi, Boehm outlines the sharp differences between male and female migration. Young men follow in the footsteps of their fathers, brothers, and uncles and migrate to become adults and providers, while women and children remain in the rancho or migrate much later, often to care for households of male kin rather than to enter the work force. These gender differences are in turn shaped by the potency and reach of U.S. policy that constructs 'illegal' and 'legal' persons, constrains movement, conveys citizenship, and allows for family reunification- policies that fall unevenly on kin networks…. A moving panorama of how these contradictions play out in personal lives.”

-Louise Lamphere,University of New Mexico

"Recommended for all levels/libraries."-CHOICE

"Boehm crafts an enthralling piece of feminist, anthropological writing that weaves the human side of immigration into her scholarship."

-Journal of Youth and Adolescence