Introduction

This chapter introduces the existential tension between elusive subjects and sovereign power. It then puts forth the book’s key questions and arguments. These motivating questions interrogate whether recognition can lead to previously unauthorized residents becoming rights-bearing subjects or, instead, result only in the classification of certain bodies as “excludable” and, therefore, “deserving” of detention and deportation. On the one hand, the chapter argues that the ability to make oneself invisible to the state potentially undermines nation-building processes; especially, in a settler state that attempts to control which stories, histories, and identities are visible. However, in the precarious case of unauthorized residents, lack of state recognition also means a denial of state rights and protections. The hope, then, is to find a way for community recognition without state involvement. The chapter addresses concerns regarding identity formation and control resulting from state surveillance as well as potential ways of thwarting these processes. This brief introductory chapter also provides an overview of the remaining chapters in the book.