This volume explores the human side of globalization (the international integration of world views, ideas and other aspects of culture, and economies); exposing the many ways it uproots people in Latin America and Asia, driving them to migrate. The author explains why U.S. national policy in regard to globalization produces even more displacement, more migration, more immigration raids, and a more divided, polarized society. Through interviews and on-the-spot reporting from both impoverished communities abroad and American immigrant workplaces and neighborhoods, the author shows how the United States' trade and economic policy abroad, in seeking to create a favorable investment climate for large corporations, creates conditions to displace communities and set migration into motion. He maintains that trade policy and immigration are intimately linked and are elements of a single economic system. He traces the development of illegal status back to slavery and shows the human cost of treating the indispensable labor of millions as illegal. The author urges for change in the way we think, debate, and legislate around issues of migration and globalization, making a case for why we need to consider immigration and migration from a globalized human rights perspective.
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