This project would not have been possible without the immense assistance of many individuals. Some are mentioned in the text. Most are not for there are simply too many people upon whom my work builds.
My professional home at the University of Denver has provided me with expansive intellectual and financial support to carry this book from an idea to the finished product before you. Thanks to the generosity of the University of Denver Office of the Associate Provost for Research, the Hughes-Rudd Research and Development Committee, and the College of Law, I was able to conduct the research needed to bring this book to life. My students have been invaluable inspirations as they challenged me to think deeper and clearer about immigration prisons. I am especially indebted to Allison Crennen-Dunlap, the first person to read a complete draft of this manuscript and the last to go easy on me about any oversights.
Along the way, I have spoken with activists, advocates, and academics who have sharpened my understanding of the role that prisons occupy in modern-day immigration policing. Lauren Dasse fights in Arizona; Adriel Orozco, Emma Kahn, and Arifa Raza in New Mexico; Cecilia Equihua in Los Angeles; Julia Braker in Oregon; and Sharon Phillips in New York. Ming Chen and Elizabeth Escobedo kindly allowed me to share parts of this project with their students. Meanwhile, my brothers, Raúl and Carlos, have been my immigration-lawyer guides at our family law firm, García & García Attorneys at Law.
Without my colleague and partner, Margaret, I would not have had the time or energy for this book. For that, I am forever indebted.