R Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptThe national level: Federal/state contextThroughout the

R Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptThe Leupeptin (hemisulfate) site national level: Federal/state contextThroughout the 20th century, the U.S. cultivated an image of itself as a country of immigrants although it had long been a country of social exclusion, segregation, and deportation (Kanstroom 2007). Yet, the former image reigns supreme, and is accompanied by the perception that people from around the world strongly desire to come to “America.”5These images and perceptions are taken as proof that the U.S. is an exceptional country and accepting of anyone willing to work hard and contribute to the good of the nation. Such rhetoric certainly framed the rush for comprehensive immigration policy reform at the commencement of President Obama’s second term (New York Times 2013). However, the fact of systematic discrimination, exclusion, and deportation has equally played over time, with different federal administrations and state governments implementing various policies, using multiple tactics, and evoking several rationales for the systematic exclusion of others (Ngai 2004; Mahler 1995). This history is rarely presented in the American imaginary, yet iterations of exclusion have occurred throughout U.S. history. In the 21st century, exclusionary tactics are less hidden and in fact brazenly deliberate. The “Secure Communities” policy, implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for example, reveals a self-justifying discourse that extols national security and cultural integrity as a rational for excluding individuals who desire to work and contribute to the U.S. (Huntington 2004b)6. It is so effective such that during the first term of the Obama presidency deportation rates hit record highs and surpassed the total number of deportations under both terms of President George W. Bush (Lopez, Gonzalez-Barrere, and Motel 2011). Secure Communities was initially touted as a voluntary program, quickly became mandatory, with noncompliance often resulting in the curtailment of federal grants and5Use of “America” and “Americans” is intentional and meant to capture how U.S. citizens tend to refer to themselves. I try to refrain from labeling U.S. citizens as Americans, as Latin America is a part of the Americas and hence America is not the exclusive domain of U.S. citizens. I use it here to capture the popular way U.S. citizens self-identify and use a discourse of “American (aka United States) Exceptionalism.” 6See http://www.ice.gov/secure_communities/. City Soc (Wash). Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 April 01.Quesada et al.Pagemonies upon which states, counties, and municipalities are increasingly dependent. In California, Jerry Brown, in his former role as State Attorney, supported Leupeptin (hemisulfate) site adhering to the Secure Communities program. Arrests for so much as littering, having a broken tail light, jaywalking, now results in a fingerprint check in the DHS database. If found to be undocumented, arrestees are held up to 48 hours so that DHS Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) agents can transfer the detainee to their custody. The undocumented are all too aware of their vulnerability and how easily they can be arrested and transposed from the criminal justice system to the immigration system. In fact, undocumented day laborers in San Francisco and Berkeley know that any encounter with the police can be their undoing. In addition, because undocumented Latino day laborers are visible and associated with certain spaces, the manner in which they are treated by local.R Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptThe national level: Federal/state contextThroughout the 20th century, the U.S. cultivated an image of itself as a country of immigrants although it had long been a country of social exclusion, segregation, and deportation (Kanstroom 2007). Yet, the former image reigns supreme, and is accompanied by the perception that people from around the world strongly desire to come to “America.”5These images and perceptions are taken as proof that the U.S. is an exceptional country and accepting of anyone willing to work hard and contribute to the good of the nation. Such rhetoric certainly framed the rush for comprehensive immigration policy reform at the commencement of President Obama’s second term (New York Times 2013). However, the fact of systematic discrimination, exclusion, and deportation has equally played over time, with different federal administrations and state governments implementing various policies, using multiple tactics, and evoking several rationales for the systematic exclusion of others (Ngai 2004; Mahler 1995). This history is rarely presented in the American imaginary, yet iterations of exclusion have occurred throughout U.S. history. In the 21st century, exclusionary tactics are less hidden and in fact brazenly deliberate. The “Secure Communities” policy, implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for example, reveals a self-justifying discourse that extols national security and cultural integrity as a rational for excluding individuals who desire to work and contribute to the U.S. (Huntington 2004b)6. It is so effective such that during the first term of the Obama presidency deportation rates hit record highs and surpassed the total number of deportations under both terms of President George W. Bush (Lopez, Gonzalez-Barrere, and Motel 2011). Secure Communities was initially touted as a voluntary program, quickly became mandatory, with noncompliance often resulting in the curtailment of federal grants and5Use of “America” and “Americans” is intentional and meant to capture how U.S. citizens tend to refer to themselves. I try to refrain from labeling U.S. citizens as Americans, as Latin America is a part of the Americas and hence America is not the exclusive domain of U.S. citizens. I use it here to capture the popular way U.S. citizens self-identify and use a discourse of “American (aka United States) Exceptionalism.” 6See http://www.ice.gov/secure_communities/. City Soc (Wash). Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 April 01.Quesada et al.Pagemonies upon which states, counties, and municipalities are increasingly dependent. In California, Jerry Brown, in his former role as State Attorney, supported adhering to the Secure Communities program. Arrests for so much as littering, having a broken tail light, jaywalking, now results in a fingerprint check in the DHS database. If found to be undocumented, arrestees are held up to 48 hours so that DHS Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) agents can transfer the detainee to their custody. The undocumented are all too aware of their vulnerability and how easily they can be arrested and transposed from the criminal justice system to the immigration system. In fact, undocumented day laborers in San Francisco and Berkeley know that any encounter with the police can be their undoing. In addition, because undocumented Latino day laborers are visible and associated with certain spaces, the manner in which they are treated by local.