Introduction: disappearing citizens: body, nation, and narrative in the Americas -- Buried citizens: landing a nation in José de Alencar and Nathaniel Hawthorne -- Lost citizens: memory and mourning in William Faulkner and Elena Garro -- Tortured citizens: terror and dissidence in Luisa Valenzuela and Edwidge Danticat -- Postscript: disappearing threats: reflections on security, immigration, and detention