“Queer in a Legal Sense” — a book by José A. de la Garza Valenzuela on Chicanx literature and US citizenship
A study at the intersection of law and literature about queer migrants in the United States.
“Queer in a Legal Sense” is a monograph by American researcher José A. de la Garza Valenzuela about the connection between US immigration law and literature, published in English by the University of Texas Press. In the context of the long history of disputes over border control and racial politics in North America, the book demonstrates how legal documents shaped the history of regulating sexuality and migration.
José A. de la Garza Valenzuela is an assistant professor in the Department of Latina/Latino Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research interests lie at the intersection of literary studies and law.
The study analyzes the works of Chicanx writers — authors of Mexican-American origin living in the USA. The focus is on the texts of John Rechy, Arturo Islas, Rigoberto González, Michael Nava, and Jaime Cortez.
The author examines their novels alongside legal precedents and laws determining access to US citizenship. The work shows that immigration law often relies on heteronormative scenarios, which makes the specific experience of queer migrants invisible. Literature in this case helps to see the hidden mechanisms of legal regulation and return the voices of those who were excluded from official legal narratives.