On the Edge of the Law

Culture, Labor, and Deviance on the South Texas Border

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book On the Edge of the Law by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Chad Richardson, Rosalva Resendiz ISBN: 9780292774506
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: January 27, 2009
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Chad Richardson, Rosalva Resendiz
ISBN: 9780292774506
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: January 27, 2009
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English
The Valley of South Texas is a region of puzzling contradictions. Despite a booming economy fueled by free trade and rapid population growth, the Valley typically experiences high unemployment and low per capita income. The region has the highest rate of drug seizures in the United States, yet its violent crime rate is well below national and state averages. The Valley's colonias are home to the poorest residents in the nation, but their rates of home ownership and intact two-parent families are among the highest in the country for low-income residential areas. What explains these apparently irreconcilable facts? Since 1982, faculty and students associated with the Borderlife Research Project at the University of Texas-Pan American have interviewed thousands of Valley residents to investigate and describe the cultural and social life along the South Texas-Northern Mexico border. In this book, Borderlife researchers clarify why Valley culture presents so many apparent contradictions as they delve into issues that are "on the edge of the law"—traditional health care and other cultural beliefs and practices, displaced and undocumented workers, immigration enforcement, drug smuggling, property crime, criminal justice, and school dropout rates. The researchers' findings make it plain that while these issues present major challenges for the governments of the United States and Mexico, their effects and contradictions are especially acute on the border, where residents must daily negotiate between two very different economies; health care, school, and criminal justice systems; and worldviews.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
The Valley of South Texas is a region of puzzling contradictions. Despite a booming economy fueled by free trade and rapid population growth, the Valley typically experiences high unemployment and low per capita income. The region has the highest rate of drug seizures in the United States, yet its violent crime rate is well below national and state averages. The Valley's colonias are home to the poorest residents in the nation, but their rates of home ownership and intact two-parent families are among the highest in the country for low-income residential areas. What explains these apparently irreconcilable facts? Since 1982, faculty and students associated with the Borderlife Research Project at the University of Texas-Pan American have interviewed thousands of Valley residents to investigate and describe the cultural and social life along the South Texas-Northern Mexico border. In this book, Borderlife researchers clarify why Valley culture presents so many apparent contradictions as they delve into issues that are "on the edge of the law"—traditional health care and other cultural beliefs and practices, displaced and undocumented workers, immigration enforcement, drug smuggling, property crime, criminal justice, and school dropout rates. The researchers' findings make it plain that while these issues present major challenges for the governments of the United States and Mexico, their effects and contradictions are especially acute on the border, where residents must daily negotiate between two very different economies; health care, school, and criminal justice systems; and worldviews.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Bonfire of Roadmaps by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book The Tira de Tepechpan by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Cooperation and Community by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Words of the True Peoples/Palabras de los Seres Verdaderos: Anthology of Contemporary Mexican Indigenous-Language Writers/Antología de Escritores Actuales en Lenguas Indígenas de México by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Viva Tequila! by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Postethnic Narrative Criticism by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book The Individuality of Portugal by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volumes 7 and 8 by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Uncivil Wars by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book The Kin Who Count by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Literature and Politics in the Central American Revolutions by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Violence and Naming by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book The Magic Key by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book The Negro and His Folklore in Nineteenth-Century Periodicals by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
Cover of the book Life After Welfare by Chad Richardson, Rosalva  Resendiz
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy