Book Review: Pathogenic policing: Immigration enforcement and health in the U.S. South

• Author: Mercedes Valadez
• Published date: 01 December 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567720945010
• Date: 01 December 2020
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Kline, N. (2019).

Pathogenic policing: Immigration enforcement and health in the U.S. South. Rutgers University Press. 236 pp. $34.95,

ISBN 978-0813595320.

Reviewed by: Mercedes Valadez , California State University, Sacramento, CA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/1057567720945010

Pathogenic Policing is one of several books in a series from Medical Anthropology: Health,

Inequality, and Social Justice. This series focuses on writing and research that examines contem-

porary medical anthropology. The series addresses a broad range of issues focused on health, illness,

inequality, and social justice. This book explores the effects of anti-immigrant legislation on immi-

grant health care access. Even without the added barriers created by anti-immigrant legislation,

immigrants, especially those who are undocumented, have limited access to health care coverage.

Interest in immigrant health care and access to coverage has recently emerged because of the impact

of COVID-19 on immigrant communities. In this book, Kline uses an ethnographic approach to

assess how not having a driver’s license, due to legal status, affects one’s health and interpersonal

relationships.

In the “Introduction: They will stop you,” Kline describes a case in which Alvaro, an undocu-

mented immigrant, was pulled over by local law enforcement for allegedly having a broken taillight.

Unable to produce a driver’s license, he was arrested and held in the county jail. This incident is used

as a cautionary tale. At their weekly meeting, the director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human

Rights uses this and other similar incidents as a reminder about the importance of driving carefully

because the police will stop you. In the chapters that follow, the author focuses on the power of a

driver’s license and its effects on the livelihood of immigrants.

Chapter 1, “How did we get here? Immigrant policing on Georgia’s immigration laws,” opens

with a discussion of anti-immigrant sentiment and the intentional steps taken to deny immigrants

access to health care services. There is a commonly held belief that immigrants, especially those

who are undocumented, “steal” public services from citizens. But the reality is that undocumented

immigrants are less likely to use public services compared to their native-born counterparts. In this

chapter, Kline argues that undocumented immigrants are purposely denied health services. While

immigrants may enter the United States in good health, the longer they stay, the worse their health

outcomes become. Kline argues that the exclusion to health-related services is both purposeful and

racialized, with the intention of maintaining racial hierarchies.

Chapter 2, “Inside the statehouse: Le gislators’ perspective on Georgia ’s immigration laws,”

addresses the racialized politics behind Georgia House Bill 87 (Illegal Immigration Reform and

Enforcement Act of 201-abbreviated HB 87) and other anti-immigrant legislation. HB 87 allows

local law enforcement to question someone about their immigrant status, makes it a misdemeanor to

transport undocumented immigrants, among other restrictions. Kline outlines his struggle to meet

with and interview state legislators to discuss HB 87. He also discusses the unintended consequences

of HB 87, including the negative financial impact on Georgia’s economy. He explores the efforts of

anti-immigrant activists and their role in influencing anti-immigrant policies.

Chapter 3, “We live here in fear: Policing, trauma, and a shadow medical system,” provides an

account of the consequences re lated to creating a localized im migration regime. Among the se

concerns are both short- and long-term health-related outcomes. These lead immigrants to seeking

treatment from a shadow medical system including Latinx clinics where patients may not be treated

by licensed physicians. Kline documents the trauma and stress experienced by immigrants living in a

hyper-policed state. Immigrants experience fear of driving because of its link to the possibility of

deportation but continue to do so out of necessity.

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