ErnestoCastañeda. 2019. Building Walls. Excluding Latin People in the United States. EUA: Lanham: Lexington Books. U.S.$95, Hardcover.

Abstract

Reviewed by Nuty Cárdenas Alaminos Much has been written about the wall that separates the United States and Mexico, and about its adverse effects-the separation of families and communities between two countries, and the conflicts and tensions in U.S.-Mexico relations. The latter point has grown in relevance with the hardening of restrictions under the border migration policies of Donald Trump's administration. Yet, there are other boundaries that divide the Mexican communities and communities of "Latin people" from the rest of the population within the United States. In their work Building Walls: Excluding Latin People in the United States, Ernesto Castañeda and his coauthors explore the building of boundaries, both symbolic and physical, and the exclusion that these boundaries entail for Latin American and Caribbean populations in the United States. This comprehensive book offers an analysis on three levels, (1) the abstract level of theory, normative arguments, and categorical thinking; (2) the legal and legislative level, which includes policy debates and online and media discussions; and (3) the microlevel of migrant and nonmigrant interactions. Furthermore, Castañeda and his coauthors put forward a wide range of evidence obtained through several methods, above all qualitative and mixed, to show the causes and consequences of the exclusion of Latin people. Their book is highly recommendable for students and experts in several disciplines-including sociology, international relations, and political science-who take an interest in the migratory issue and in the everyday racism, nationalism, and discrimination suffered by the population of Latin American origin in United States. The book is divided into three parts, each dealing with one dimension of the boundaries that keep out the Latin population. In chapters one and two, the author analyzes boundary formation at the theoretical and conceptual level. Chapter one takes a look at the terms that are used to refer to the "other," and how categories such as "Hispanic," "Latin," or "Chicano" presuppose the existence of a culture and language common to people from very different countries. For instance, "Hispanic"-used for the first time during the 1980s for the national population census-refers to people from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and all of the countries in Central and South America where Spanish is spoken. Castañeda sees language as the common denominator and a unifying factor and suggests using the term "Latin" people because it points to a past and present use of Spanish and Portuguese, that is, Romance languages derived from Latin. At the theoretical level, Castañeda shows in chapter two how liberal theory supports exclusionary policies implemented by nation-states. Despite the opening up and faster interchange of commercial goods and capital, the movement of people, particularly work migration, continues to be tightly controlled. Although permanent and temporary migrations are a common occurrence, it is