New Books Network Lee Ann S. Wang, "The Violence of Protection: Policing, Immigration Law, and Asian American Women" (Duke UP, 2026)
Apr 1, 2026
Lee Ann S. Wang, Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies and author of The Violence of Protection, blends ethnography and abolition feminist critique. She discusses how U.S. protection laws tie immigrant survivors to policing. Short segments cover fieldwork with advocates, critiques of VAWA/U/T visas, racialized survivor templates, and visions of abolitionist solidarity.
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Abolition Feminism Links Gender Violence To State Power
- Abolition feminism reframes gender violence as tied to state power rather than just interpersonal harm.
- Lee Ann S. Wang connects anti-violence organizing to critiques of policing, neoliberal nonprofits, and immigration enforcement funding.
Do Center Ethnic Studies Practices Over Simple Bridging
- Refuse academic pressure to simply 'bridge' activism and scholarship; center politically committed ethnic studies practices instead.
- Wang recommends sustaining networks and community work while developing methods that don't mimic legal language.
VAWA Fueled Policing Not Just Protection
- The Violence Against Women Act expanded policing and surveillance rather than solely helping survivors.
- Wang situates VAWA in the 1990s neoliberal turn alongside welfare reform and new immigration restrictions that tied benefits to legal status.
