CLS faculty member Marla Ramírez’s Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women who Endured Repatriation continues to win awards and inspire acclaim from many different corners. The book chronicles the expulsion of nearly one million people of Mexican descent between 1921 and 1944, more than 60 percent of whom were U.S. Citizens. Ramírez argues that what was then called “voluntary repatriation” was in fact state-sanctioned banishment that targeted families, especially women and children, without due process. Drawing on interviews by the author and previously unused documentary sources, the book illuminates the lasting effects of coerced mass removal on three generations of ethnic Mexicans. Released in October 2025 by Harvard University Press, the book continues to win prestigious awards and attract praise from historians, migration experts, and others. The book’s notable honors include:
- Winner, Mary Nickliss Prize in U.S. Women’s and Gender History: Awarded by the Organization of American Historians (OAH) to honor path-breaking books that challenge or change scholarly interpretations in women’s and/or gender history.
- Winner, Theodore Saloutos Book Award: Awarded by the Immigration and Ethnic History Society (IEHS) for the year’s best book on the immigration history of the United States.
- Winner, IEHS First Book Award: Also granted by the Immigration and Ethnic History Society, which recognizes the work of early career scholars in the field of U.S. immigration and ethnic history of the United States and/or North America.
- Winner, Philip Taft Labor History Award: Sponsored by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA) for the year’s best book in American labor and working-class history.
- Winner, Sal Castro Memorial Book Award in Chicano History, Chicano/Latino Focus Group of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center and the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Honorable Mention, Merle Curti Social History Award: Recognized by the OAH as one of the best books in American social history.
- Named a Best Nonfiction Book of the Year (2025): Named as a top nonfiction book of the year by Kirkus Reviews.
Because of its powerful and timely challenge to the language of “repatriation” that has traditionally informed discussion of this historical episode, and because of its attention to gender, the book promises to be a landmark in the study of of migration, citizenship, and race. Prof. Ramírez has made numerous appearances at colleges and universities around the country to discuss the book, including a recent visit Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California. Marla Ramírez is an assistant professor of History and Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies.
