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Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security (City Lights Open Media) Paperback – April 8, 2014

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 207 ratings

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"In his scathing and deeply reported examination of the U.S. Border Patrol, Todd Miller argues that the agency has gone rogue since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, trampling on the dignity and rights of the undocumented with military-style tactics … Miller's book arrives at a moment when it appears that part of the Homeland Security apparatus is backpedaling by promising to tone down its tactics, maybe prodded by investigative journalism, maybe by the revelations of NSA leaker Edward Snowden … Border Patrol is quite possibly the right book at the right time … "—Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times

"At the start of his unsettling and important new book, Border Patrol Nation, Miller observes that these days 'it is common to see the Border Patrol in places—such as Erie, Pennsylvania; Rochester, New York; or Forks, Washington—where only fifteen years ago it would have seemed far-fetched, if not unfathomable.'”—Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor

"Miller’s approach in Border Patrol Nation is to offer a glimpse into the secretive operations of the Border Patrol, reporting with a journalist’s objectivity and nose for a good story. Miller’s book is full of facts, and it’s clear he’s outraged, but he gives voices to people on every side of the issue … Miller’s book is a fascinating read … and bring the work of Susan Orlean to mind."—Amanda Eyre Ward, Kirkus Reviews

"Todd Miller's invaluable and gripping book, Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security is the story of how this country’s borders are being transformed into up-armored, heavily militarized zones run by a border-industrial complex. It's an achievement and an eye opener."—Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch

"What Jeremy Scahill was to Blackwater, Todd Miller is to the U.S. Border Patrol!"—Tom Miller, author, On the Border: Portraits of America's Southwestern Frontier

"Todd Miller has entered a secret world, and he has gone deep … Powerful."—Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Devil's Highway: A True Story

"Journalist Miller tells an alarming story of U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security's ever-widening reach into the lives of American citizens and legal immigrants as well as the undocumented. In addition to readers interested in immigration issues, those concerned about the NSA’s privacy violations will likely be even more shocked by the actions of Homeland Security."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Armed authorities watch from a military-grade surveillance tower as lines of people stream toward the security checkpoint, tickets in hand, anxious and excited to get through the gate. Few seem to notice or care that the US Border Patrol is monitoring the Super Bowl, as they have for years, one of the many ways that forces created to police the borders are now being used, in an increasingly militarized fashion, to survey and monitor the whole of American society.

In fast-paced prose, Todd Miller sounds an alarm as he chronicles the changing landscape. Traveling the country—and beyond—to speak with the people most involved with and impacted by the Border Patrol, he combines these first-hand encounters with careful research to expose a vast and booming industry for high-end technology, weapons, surveillance, and prisons. While politicians and corporations reap substantial profits, the experiences of millions of men, women, and children point to staggering humanitarian consequences. Border Patrol Nation shows us in stark relief how the entire country has become a militarized border zone, with consequences that affect us all.

Todd Miller has worked on and written about US border issues for over fifteen years.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Todd Miller's powerful prose belies what one hopes is a growing sense of outrage at the inhuman and racist goals of U.S. border enforcement. His journeys from place to place and the complexities he presents within the Border Patrol itself provide the reader with a comprehensive picture of what’s wrong in the United States. This is a book that should not be ignored."—Dawn Paley, Upside Down World

"If examined closely enough, the swollen border security complex also reveals who watches and who is watched. Miller has done us all a great service by helping to expose this dichotomy."—Aaron Cantu, Latino Rebels

“ … it is an important wake-up call for those who have not kept up with the morally troubling expansion of this mammoth security apparatus.”—Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality & Practice

"Miller is not an armchair theorist. He has reported on border issues for a decade, including for the New York Times … He writes of the people he sees as the victims of the Border Patrol's abrasiveness and also of the cruel deportation policy of the Obama administration that breaks up families … But the book shows surprising sympathy for many agents who are required by their jobs to be enforcers of a tough system."—Tony Perry, Miami Herald

"Miller’s approach in Border Patrol Nation is to offer a glimpse into the secretive operations of the Border Patrol, reporting with a journalist’s objectivity and nose for a good story. Miller’s book is full of facts, and it’s clear he’s outraged, but he gives voices to people on every side of the issue … Miller’s book is a fascinating read … and bring the work of Susan Orlean to mind."—from interview with author by Amanda Eyre Ward, Kirkus Reviews

"[Miller] offers a vision of what the military-industrial complex looks like once it's transported, jobs and all, to the US–Mexican border and turned into a consumer mall for the post-9/11 era … [it's] a striking and original picture."—Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch

"Solid, absorbing reportage on the government’s racist and constitutionally questionable notions of border security in the post-9/11 world … An unsettling but important read.”—Kirkus Reviews

"What Jeremy Scahill was to Blackwater, Todd Miller is to the U.S. Border Patrol!"—Tom Miller, author, On the Border: Portraits of America's Southwestern Frontier

"Todd Miller has entered a secret world, and he has gone deep. If you want to learn about the Border Patrol's world, you will find this book informative and startling. I'm not sure the Border Patrol will like all that he has to say. But his is a moral work that wrestles with a huge story. Powerful."—Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Devil's Highway: A True Story

"Journalist Miller tells an alarming story of U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security’s ever-widening reach into the lives of American citizens and legal immigrants as well as the undocumented. He describes the militarization of the Border Patrol and concurrent dehumanizing of 'unauthorized' persons; American citizens routinely harassed and arrested in Constitution-free zones that extend 100 miles from all borders; the expulsion of a exemplary Border Patrol agent for expressing his Mexican identity in casual conversation; and the Border Patrol’s Explorer Academy for children, which, with its lock-step marching, black boots, law-enforcement training, and indoctrination is eerily evocative of fascism and Hitler Youth. Miller reveals the 'complex and industrial world' looming behind the border patrol, spanning 'robotics, engineers, salespeople and detention centers' and the new generation of Explorers. 'It is the world in which we now live,' he states, 'where eradicating border violations is given higher priority than eradicating malnutrition, poverty, homelessness, illiteracy, [and] unemployment.' In addition to readers interested in immigration issues, those concerned about the NSA’s privacy violations will likely be even more shocked by the actions of Homeland Security."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"I encourage everyone to read this book and to recommend it to colleagues, friends and family who live far from the border and perhaps don't know yet that they live in Border Patrol Nation … They will soon enough."—Molly Molloy, editor, Frontera List

"Todd Miller's book Border Patrol Nation has some eye opening reporting, especially for those of us who live along the border and think we know the facts of the expanding police state. Well, I didn't know the Border Patrol provided security for the Superbowl. And I was ignorant of their youth groups and the scale of such propaganda work. I don't think anyone can read this book without being alarmed by the growing presence of surveillance, the expense and the apparent acceptance by our fellow citizens of this new national police force. He illustrates how the border increasingly is running right through our living rooms regardless of where we live as the claims of the security state crush any ideas of personal freedom. And like any good book, the reader will argue with some pages and think about others. Miller also captures how the universities are become satanic mills for the growing industry of spying on us for our own good. Who knows, maybe the academy will stop accepting grants from the people who want to build more cages and instead become centers of critical thinking."—Charles Bowden, author of Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields

"The U.S. needs a reality check about its border with Mexico, and none need it more than the Congress. I wish every member could get a copy of Border Patrol Nation, and see up close the impact of a quarter century of increasing enforcement and militarization. Todd Miller has done an important service for those who make our laws, and the rest of us too, in giving us this reality check. He's told the real story of the border as a place where people live and work, in many ways a unique and beautiful place, but now scarred, as he so eloquently describes, by injustice and even death."--David Bacon, author, The Right to Stay Home: How U.S. Policy Drives Mexican Migration

"In Border Patrol Nation, Todd Miller takes us on a terrifying journey crisscrossing the borders of our nation to find decaying carcasses, loving families ripped apart by deportations and whole swaths of territory now militarized. Miller exposes the underpinnings of this ever-expanding surveillance state―military contractors that rake in fat profits and bloated government agencies that keep extending their tentacles while the core of our neighborhoods wither from neglect. Miller reveals the humanity of both the victims and the victimizers, and the inhumanity of the system. A fantastic book."—Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink and author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control

"Border Patrol Nation takes the reader on a voyage like no other book. From El Paso to Detroit, from reality television to corporate trade shows, from South Carolina to the Dominican Republic, Todd Miller paints a highly original and illuminating picture of the breadth and depth of the U.S. government's boundary and immigrant policing apparatus, and surveillance and social control in the era of 'Homeland Security.' It is a book that frightens and inspires, and one that demands a wide audience. Miller's message is one we ignore at our peril."—Joseph Nevins, author of Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond: The War On "Illegals" and the Remaking of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary

“Todd Miller provides a tour de force of the ever-growing, metastasizing border enforcement apparatus focused on threats posed by immigrants, drug runners, and nearly non-existent terrorists. From the U.S.-Mexico divide and the U.S.-Canada boundary and many interior areas between, to the Caribbean and the border separating the Dominican Republic and Haiti, reinforced (against Haitians) with assistance from U.S. Border Patrol, Miller highlights the problem of the fetishistic over-use of coercive technology and human resources cum militarization to address what are essentially underlying social problems. Miller renders it all with the vivid human experiences and agency of residents, citizens, government authorities, technocrats, contractors/profiteers, and immigrants and their families. This book deserves a very wide audience from concerned citizens to policy-makers, to students and scholars in a wide array of fields.”—Timothy Dunn, Professor, Dept. of Sociology, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD, and author of The Militarization of the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1978-1992: Low Intensity Conflict Doctrine Comes Home and Blockading the Border and Human Rights: The El Paso Operation that Remade Immigration Enforcement

“If you want to know what's really going on behind the Border Patrol code names and billion dollar budgets, read this book. Through lively narratives drawn from dozens of personal interviews with agents and the people they pepper spray or worse, Todd Miller connects the dots. From conventions marketing micro-robots and urine bags to the University of Tuscon’s curriculum based on Homeland Security funding, to the recruiting campaigns inducing people from retail jobs to 70k entry-level positions as border agents, Border Patrol Nation is a relentless, fast-paced, and sophisticated analysis that takes you from the tribal lands of Arizona to Goat Island, Niagara Falls, exposing embarrassing evidence of our government's meanness and stupidity.”—Jacqueline Stevens, Professor, Political Science Department, Director, Deportation Research Clinic, Northwestern University, and author of States Without Nations: Citizenship for Mortals

"Border Patrol Nation dissects the 2,000-mile illusion—2,000 miles of greed and corruption and death—that threatens to swallow our rights, our hope and our entire country. Todd Miller investigates the bloated bureaucracies, the corporate interests, the ruthless politicians and policies invested in this dangerous illusion. Border Patrol Nation documents the need to end the illusion."—Roberto Lovato, writer, co-founder and strategist at Presente.org

About the Author

For the past fifteen years, Todd Miller has researched, written about, and worked on immigration and border issues from both sides of the U.S. Mexico divide for organizations such as BorderLinks, Witness for Peace, and NACLA. He did the brunt of this work in Tucson, Arizona and Oaxaca, Mexico, with stints in New York City. Between Tucson and the Buffalo/Niagara Falls region of New York state where he grew up, he has spent the majority of his life close to the U.S. international boundary, south and north. His writings about the border have appeared in the New York Times, TomDispatch, Mother Jones, The Nation, Al Jazeera English, and Salon among other places.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ City Lights Publishers (April 8, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 358 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0872866319
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0872866317
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 207 ratings

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4.2 out of 5 stars
207 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and engaging. They describe the writing as well-written, easy to read, and transparent. However, some readers feel the book is biased and one-sided.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

57 customers mention "Insight"51 positive6 negative

Customers find the book informative and engaging. They appreciate the well-written content and the notes for further reading. The book provides factual information in a way that is interesting. It also touches on important issues like the militarization of the border.

"...While Border Patrol Nation is informative and compelling, readers with different perspectives may have different outlooks on the book's message...." Read more

"...Still, there are honest, fair, and non-racist border patrol agents who are dedicated to enforcing the laws of the U.S. and protecting the civil..." Read more

"...The book is eye opening in the way that it tells stories from individuals in the profession but also draws a picture of the armament and views of..." Read more

"...Overall, this book is a great review of the ways things could be tweaked by the federal government, and still maintain safety, security, pragmatism,..." Read more

17 customers mention "Writing quality"14 positive3 negative

Customers find the book's writing quality good. They find it easy to read and transparently written for a wide audience. The author uses simple terms and keeps the text jargon-free, making reading quick and easy. Readers appreciate the fascinating words and narrative style.

"...Mr. Miller uses simple terms and keeps the text jargon-free all while illustrating what he saw on his travels...." Read more

"...This book is exceptionally well written, and It is well researched. It's appropriate, I think, for him to sound an alarm...." Read more

"Todd Miller’s Border Patrol is well written and gives the reader a good understanding of what it’s like to work for Border Patrol and how these..." Read more

"...Miller does a great job writing this book at a level that anybody can understand, whether you study border security, work in the industry, or you’re..." Read more

10 customers mention "Bias"0 positive10 negative

Customers find the book biased and one-sided. They say the author pushes his agenda without backing up his claims.

"...The book is a bit biased and has a bit more of a negative, yet eye-opening, tone (again, remember it is not a textbook)...." Read more

"...for dispassionate, objective debate, for the very reason that is not an un-biased, apolitical, objective statement of the issues...." Read more

"...The cons to this book are that it is obviously biased and left leaning and equalizing viewpoints were not sought out or considered...." Read more

"...I can see that it is somewhat biased, but I think he does a decent job explaining both sides of the border, why people try to come across legally..." Read more

4 customers mention "Slant"0 positive4 negative

Customers feel the book has a one-sided slant. They mention the stories portray the border patrol system as biased.

"...The book feels very one-sided, with the stories portraying the border patrol system very negatively...." Read more

"...One sided, but nonetheless, a great insight and realization of the problems America is facing regarding this issue." Read more

"...This book can be seen as one-sided and very biased, but is still a fun read overall, especially for those who are interested in Border Security...." Read more

"A solid, yet one sided read..." Read more

Interesting and critical read.
4 out of 5 stars
Interesting and critical read.
This book was very interesting and thought provoking to read. The author’s passionate tone throughout the book seemed to be a bit critical and sometimes negative of varying aspects of the agency and its practices. The book definitely does not read like a textbook which I found to be more interesting but it does blurry the lines of possible bias. The book essentially takes you through a journey of how things changed dramatically after 9/11 and how the Border Patrol became an agency to fall under the massive umbrella of Homeland Security. Government officials and public opinion of securing our borders was a top priority and certain humanitarian rights have been overlooked in the name of national security. It highlighted the recruitment changes to help encourage more individuals especially our nation’s youth to join the Border Patrol which have similar tactics of recruitment of that of our military. Probably the most interesting parts I found to be in this book were the several interviews with different individuals that painted a picture of a very harsh and difficult construct of day-to-day business in the Border Patrol world. Border Security has been a growing controversial topic over the years and this book definitely highlights the most controversial aspects of it especially when going into the humanitarian and constitutional aspects of the Border Patrol.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2018
    Border Patrol Nation is an on the ground look into the growing Homeland Security apparatus which came to be after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Todd Miller is an investigative journalist who travels to U.S. borders, the Dominican Republic, Arizona, and Niagara Falls to provide an uneasy glimpse on how homeland security controls are slowly becoming part of our everyday lives. In his book, he covers how the fine lines between keeping America safe and preserving our freedoms are increasingly becoming blurred. With stories of immigrants and American citizens increasingly becoming scrutinized by DHS agents, and a growing industry that puts battlefield technology to domestic use, Todd Miller's Border Patrol Nation offers a view into a world of a new security-industrial complex that shows no signs of retreating.

    Homeland Security academics will find Border Patrol Nation an engaging and informative text. Mr. Miller paints a vivid picture of the security challenges we face in a post 9/11 world. He covers illegal immigration, constitutional concerns, privacy, and terrorism. Also, the author shows the reader how far Homeland Security has reached, and what is at stake in wanting more security. Academics will finish the text with an appreciation of the objectives of border security and the resources dedicated to the task while taking into account society’s stakeholders.

    While Border Patrol Nation is informative and compelling, readers with different perspectives may have different outlooks on the book's message. If a reader has a worldview from a nationalist perspective, the reader can feel that the author is only "crying wolf”, and what is occurring is necessary. On the other hand, if the reader has a globalist perspective, that individual will feel that the author seems to have a concern for a loss of civil liberties and a rise in fascism.

    Overall, Border Patrol Nation is a fascinating book that is written transparently for a wide audience. Mr. Miller uses simple terms and keeps the text jargon-free all while illustrating what he saw on his travels. One can easily picture a helicopter shining a spotlight on illegal immigrants in Arizona or the look of hunger of a Haitian child pleading with a Dominican Republic Border Officer to let him pass. Mr. Miller tells a story that we all need to hear and wants us to make up our minds as to what is going on. If you are a security professional or just looking for a different type of story, I highly recommend this book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2017
    In Border Patrol Nation, author Todd Miller delivers a biased exposé on the buildup of U.S. Border Patrol Agents nationwide since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Miller’s focus is the subsequent paradigmatic shift of border enforcement from that primarily of immigration and narcotics enforcement to that of a “fully armed” federal security force in charge of a virtual surveillance state that includes the “watchers” and the “watched.” What Miller means by “fully armed” is never explained, but the tone of his argument and his mockery of border patrol agents’ military-style haircuts and trendy sunglasses as well as his characterization of them as “soldiers” demonstrates his utter contempt for a law enforcement agency that would have the gall to issue firearms to its officers and then have the effrontery to make their carry obligatory. In fact Miller makes it clear that the border patrol is fairly silly for feeling the need to arm itself against a few innocent people of color whose only oversight in their quest for work and a better life is not possessing the right papers.

    Miller contends that the immigration policies of the U.S. are fundamentally and necessarily racially motivated. Federal agencies charged with immigration enforcement, including the border patrol, target people and communities of color, especially those with brown skin, in order to protect a prosperous way of life for white folk. Miller makes reference to the Chinese Exclusion Act in the late 19th century, with its explicit racial bias, as the turning point in American history from a nation of immigrants to that of a nation of gatekeepers. The modern border patrol, Miller posits, is nothing more than an extension of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny and, ultimately, of European nation-building, with its perpetual intrusion into the lives and properties of people of color along the U.S. borderlands. Miller cites anecdotal evidence from obviously biased organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on Islamic American Relations. At other times, Miller makes totally unsubstantiated statements of fact.

    As with all biased reporting, there is a measure of truth in Miller’s arguments. The border patrol has grown immensely since the author of this review joined its ranks in 1997 as a patrol agent, at which time the agency employed approximately 4,500 officers. Its current size is estimated to be well over 20,000 today. Border patrol surveillance technology has also increased exponentially in the years following 9/11. The writer of this review did witness occasional and unnecessary physical and psychological abuse of detainees at the hands of crooked border patrol agents as well as a culture of corruption and racism that is endemic to the border patrol (Surprisingly, the experience of this writer is that the majority of border patrol agents are of Hispanic ethnicity and racism is directed predominantly toward Anglo-American border patrol agents).
    Still, there are honest, fair, and non-racist border patrol agents who are dedicated to enforcing the laws of the U.S. and protecting the civil rights of all people. However, Miller’s mockery and obvious contempt for the agents of the border patrol detracts from his arguments and his use of biased sources diminishes his credibility. Lastly, Miller, in a constant critique of border enforcement methods, offers no solution, either to the question of border security in a post-9/11 world, or to the endless waves of undocumented illegal immigrants that continue to stream, virtually unabated and un-vetted, into the U.S. The reader, absent an informed mind, is tempted to rail inwardly against the “monster” that is the U.S. government and its hordes of racist, “fully armed,” green-uniformed mercenaries sent to the borderlands to harass and expel the unwelcomed and undesirable people of color.

    Despite its shortcomings, Border Patrol Nation is a fascinating look at the culture of the U.S. border and of the U.S. Border Patrol and an enjoyable read. However, due to bias, the reader is cautioned to seek a balanced perspective.
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