Book Talk At Princeton - Leave If You Can: Migration and Violence in Bordered Worlds by Amelia Frank-Vitale

Hondurans have been at the heart of some of the most visible migration phenomena in the last few years, as well as the direct target of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy. In Leave If You Can, Amelia Frank-Vitale offers a detailed portrait of the Honduran exodus and what it reveals about the broader consequences of changing US border enforcement policies. She highlights the stories of those who are often presented as unsympathetic: deported young men implicitly associated with the very violence they are trying to flee. In the process, she challenges underlying assumptions frequently held by policy makers and humanitarian agencies. In this talk, Frank-Vitale gives an overview of the book and details the field work in Honduras and Mexico that helped inform her writing. This is followed by comments by Professor Ulla D. Berg of Rutgers University and Dr. Ernesto Castañeda of American University. We encourage you to tune in, as our goal is to spark awareness, challenge assumptions, and promote a deeper understanding of this important topic. Authors:Amelia Frank-Vitale is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University and the author of Leave If You Can: Migration and Violence in Bordered Worlds. Frank-Vitale studies how people manage and make sense of an ever-expanding US border regime in the Americas. Her body of work connects regional immigration and security policies, organized crime, state violence, and strategic im/mobility as a survival strategy in Honduras and in migration.Ulla D. Berg is an Associate Professor at the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies and the Department of Anthropology and former Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Rutgers (2015-2021). As a sociocultural and visual anthropologist specializing in Latin America and in Latino communities in the U.S., Prof. Berg's research focuses on historical and contemporary processes and experiences of migration and mobility within Latin America and between this region and the United States. Ernesto Castañeda is the Director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and the Immigration Lab. He is a full Professor at the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of International Service at American University. Castañeda has published over a dozen books and articles and his insights and commentary are frequently featured in public talks, policy discussions, and major media outlets, making him a prominent voice in public debates on immigration and Latino issues. His analyses have appeared in prominent news outlets such as The Washington Post, the BBC, NPR and more.