¡Adios, America! examines three main themes explained in Governing Immigration Through Crime (GITC), which include exclusion, exceptionalism, and expendable émigrés. Thus, in this critical analysis, I will start by briefly explaining the theories, specify how the theories operate on a practical level and conclude with strengths, weaknesses and how the author's argument contributes to the broader public dialogue. I. Theories Explained: Exclusion, Exceptionalism and the Expendable Émigrés
A) Exclusion
In Chapter 3, Chacon (2013) explains how after September 11, 2001, a justification was made for tough immigration enforcement that got framed as a national security issue. Instead of tackling the immigration issues with comprehensive approaches the US government opted to place all immigration institutions within the Department of Homeland Security (Chacon, 2013). Therefore,
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In 1918, the Anarchist Act excluded “subversive” aliens which leads to the change in sanctioning behavior post entry (Chacon, 2013). In 1924, the Immigration Act, included a strict racial quota, eliminated the statute of limitations on deportation for all unlawful entry, created the Border Patrol, and by 1929 illegal entry was a criminal act (Chacon, 2013). The usage of the term “illegal immigrant” and “illegal alien” became part of the normal vocabulary by the 1950s and the immigration law became the tool to “bar the admission of the undesired and punish the deportation of noncitizens” (Chacon, 2013, p. 83). In 1996, Antiterrorism and Effect Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility (IIRIRA), made it easier to remove immigrants, impose penalties for violating the law and permanently remove non-citizens from reentry (Chacon,
Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton, N.J. [u.a.: Princeton Univ. Press, 2004. Print.
Bucerius, Sandra and Tonry, Michael. The Oxford Handbook of Ethnicity, Crime, and Immigration. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.
The Latino Threat is a concept of an imposing threat of the Latino, whether they be from Mexico or any other Latin country, and how they affect the U.S. and its citizens. This concept is described heavily Leo R. Chavez’ book aptly titled The Latino Threat. In the book, he describes how the Latino threat as a concept has been used routinely to underline the aspect of United States citizenship in a tit for tat manner; that being dehumanizing the Latino to raise the standing of U.S. citizenship. The U.S. as a nation believes it should feel better about itself because it is the one that turns people away rather than being the place where people run from. Over the history of America this isolationist views on illegal immigrants has waned and contrast
The article by Rob Guerette is a case study involving the widely-reported increase of immigration into the United States. It tackles migration issues as well as related issues such as border security , security initiatives by individuals.. The article also provides in-depth research about the impact of illegal immigration into the United States including migrant deaths, deaths of non-migrants at the border, border security and the challenges faced by United States border patrol officers. The main purpose of the article was to provide an explanation as to whether the Border Patrol has any effect in saving the lives of people attempting to enter into the United States (Guerette, 2007).
Natives who oppose the entrance of immigrants into their nation offer several reasons in favor of the abolishment of immigrants. They argue that immigrants are the reasons for drug trafficking, when over 80% of drug traffickers are natives. They argue that immigration increases crime rate, yet most studies comparing crime rates and
For over ten years, efforts to make changes to the United States immigration system have been put aside due to wars, attacks within our homeland and even worldwide financial crisis but it seems as though this being brought up more and more often. The history of the US immigration policy was more concerned with immigration enforcement over immigration reform. It was not until a few years ago that the US citizens voted they were tired of enforcement-only immigration policies and the pain they caused on immigrant families. So most feel now is the time to draw up new immigration laws that reflect American values and beliefs, and it ne...
Wellman, Christopher, and Phillip Cole. Debating the Ethics of Immigration is There a Right ti Exclude?. New York : Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
In the book From Deportation to Prison: The Politics of Immigration in Post-Civil Rights America, Patrisia Macias-Rojas argues there is a punitive turn and primary shift in the handling of migration laws in the United States, and particularly their enforcement. In her point of view, she mentions the primary role of border enforcement in the past was about whether or not a person had the permission and proper documentation to enter the country legally. However, now border patrol has moved to being more reliant on the criminal justice system. The political idea of creating a border wall was brought forth at a time when the numbers of entry by undocumented immigrants was at its lowest. The fundamental shift, as she refers to it, to deportation
Illegal immigration was an issue in the past and is a pressing problem in the present. The U.S. Government has been trying to find a resolution to this issue for years. The United States approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, which allowed the American Government to punish American companies that consciously employed illegal immigrants (Nadadur 1037-1052). The United States’ Government Immigration Reform and Control Act has been unsuccessful in controlling illegal immigration. It is estimated that illegal immigration into the U.S. has a yearly interval of three hundred fifty thousand people (Rousmaniere 24-25). It is apparent that the 1986 act was not able to keep a handle on illegal immigration. Illegal immigration continues due to the fact that immigrants only take the jobs available to them, which in turn helps support the United States’ economy, so measures should not be taken to halt immigration.
Vaughan, Jessica M. “Aliens Who Overstay Their Visas Are a Serious Security Threat.” Opposing Viewpoints: Immigration. Eds. David M. Haugen, Susan Musser and Kacy Lovelace. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. 182-193. Print.
“U.S. policy-makers and the general public believe causes of immigration are evident: poverty, unemployment, economic stagnation and overpopulation drive people to leave their countries” (Sassen, p.14). In many cases this can be a true statement, however, during the course of study it was found there are many other factors influencing migration to the United States. Either way, migration to America can only happen in two different forms, legally or illegally. The U.S. Border Patrol effortlessly tries to contain the flow of people across state lines, but the main reason this epidemic exists stems from the policies that deter people from taking the legal route. The processes involved to becoming an elite member of the American society is costly, time consuming, frustrating and can often lead to dead ends. By performing a case study on an immigrant that is taking the legal approach, the conclusion can be drawn on why individuals slip under the citizenship radar.
In the United States, the central tenant of immigration policy reform is the meanly focused on the control over border security and protection from allowing illegal persons for crossing and residing in those states bordering
The thought of arriving immigrants in any host country has been accompanied by reactions of exclusion, and continues to expand throughout the years. During any social illness, immigrants tend to be the first to be held responsible by their recipient societies. Most crimes are associated with immigrants due to the fact that they may not posses the same socio-economics status as natives. Another contributing factor is the media that conducts numerous stories that highlight the image of immigrant crimes to recall the alleged difference between native and foreign born. Undoubtedly, the correlation between immigration and crime has become one of the most controversial discussions in current society. As we enter a new era, immigrants will have more impact on society than ever before (Feldmeyer, 2009).
According to Journal of American Ethnic History , “While Immigration and Crime disrupts notions that automatically associate immigrants with criminality, it leaves room for the criminalization of other groups. Considering institutional practices and their impact on how we understand crime furthers the conversation that Martinez and Valenzuela have generated on the connection between immigration and crime. ” People think all the criminality is connect to the immigrante, this mind is print in people’s mind, this also makes society think most of criminality is connect to the
In McDonnell’s article, Rubio is described as a “hardworking, self-sufficient man with social ties to citizens;” however, Rubio argument is based on having “never depended on the government.” Anti-immigration focus more on the fact of immigrants giving back to the government in taxes and not being independent and depleting its resources. Immigrants are put into a binary of “good” and “bad” and are forced to lose their identity in order to “behave ‘like’ Americans or face the consequences.” Escobar’s analysis of immigration and criminality is that of having immigrants have an “American” identity in contrast to the identity of a “criminal.” Criminality is used to “organize society in order to regulate racialized and gendered boundaries of belonging.” Every individual is put under different levels of scrutiny in order to fit the “American” identity or “criminal” identity. Criminality is constantly changing its meaning to separate the “deserving” from the