Cruelty as Citizenship: How Migrant Suffering Sustains White Democracy

FEATURING CRISTINA BELTRÁN – The issue of immigration in American has always been the focus of controversy, racist rhetoric, and cruel policies. Indeed, this is by design as part of a nation whose origin is built on white supremacy. A new book examines how “migrant suffering sustains white democracy.” In it, author Cristina Beltrán points out that anti-immigrant practices offer nativist Americans, “a legally sanctioned opportunity to impose tyranny over a nonwhite population while still claiming constitutional protections for themselves.”

Cristina Beltrán, associate professor in New York University’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. She is author of The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity. Her latest book is called Cruelty as Citizenship: How Migrant Suffering Sustains White Democracy.

*This segment was originally broadcast on Marcy 15, 2021.