This book considers the intimate lives of migrant laborers and highlights the shortcomings of policies that criminalize migrants and their loved ones. "The main value of the book is the detailed narratives that show how migrants and their children confront strict government policies that shape their mobility and immobility....I recommend Crossing the Gulf for scholars of international migration, gender and the family, and the Gulf states. It is written accessibly and would be a useful course text for undergraduate and graduate students."