Illegality and Border Governance Flashcards
(16 cards)
What are “illegality” and “deportability”?
Social constructions that are formed through specific historical contingencies (events that were not inevitable)
What is the purpose of the border?
The border functions as a spectacle → fulfills ideological objectives as much, if not more than material ones
What is the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
The treaty that resulted in the cessation of 55% of Mexico’s territory to the US
What is the significance of the time period between 1864 and 1875?
The US was deciding what to do with emancipated slaves, and they were recruited (along with Chinese immigrants) to develop the railroad
What is the function of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act?
The act created the first class of “illegal aliens”, specifically Chinese immigrants that helped build the railroad
What is the overlap between the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, Reconstruction and the “Black question”?
Both emancipated slaves and Chinese immigrants were exploited in the construction of the railroad, but only emancipated slaves were offered citizenship as they “lacked culture”, while Chinese immigrants were perceived as a threat due to their intellect and connection to their culture → US believed Chinese immigrants would never assimilate
What is the function of the 1924 Immigration Act (Johnson-Reed Act)?
The act established racialized national quotas for accepted migrants, established the first US border patrol (with recruited members of the KKK), and established the first comprehensive restriction law (restricted all immigrants instead of just Chinese immigrants)
What is the function of the 1952 McCarran Walter Act?
The act allowed minimal migrations from Asia and eliminated racialized restrictions on naturalization, but it maintained national origin quotas (85% of quotas were allocated to Northern European migrants) → was the beginning of the modern border infrastructure
What is the function of the 1965 Hart Cellar Act?
National quotas were eliminated after Cold War pressures, diversifying immigrant composition in the US, but preferences were implemented for “highly skilled workers” and Mexican migration was capped at 20,000 per year after being unlimited before
What occurred after the implementation of the 1965 Hart Cellar Act and the end of the Bracero Program?
There was a spike in unauthorized immigration, and immigration-related arrests went from 44,000 in 1964 to over 1 million in 1977 → aligns with the modern deportation regime
What was the Bracero Program (1942-1964)?
About 200,000 Mexican workers were brought in annually to replace the agricultural workforce during World War II, bringing back labor who had been ousted during the Great Depression, but these workers were given no path to citizenship, no legal recourse, and were prohibited from unionizing → served as the origins of the Latinx-Philipinx farmworker movement
How does the border function as a spectacle?
There is a mismatch between the stated aims of immigration laws and their actual effects → establishes threat of deportability to serve capital rather than deportation itself
What are the three elements of the border governance arsenal?
Exclusion, territorial diffusion, and commodified inclusion
What is exclusion?
Exclusion describes measures that intend to contain or expel (i.e. deportation)
What is territorial diffusion?
Territorial diffusion describes surveillance and disciplinary practices within the state, as well as imperial outsourcing beyond the state borders (border externalization) (i.e. Remain in Mexico Policy, lack of access to driver’s licenses, etc.)
What is commodified inclusion?
Commodified inclusion describes measures that subject migrants to heightened exploitation without “excluding” them (i.e. threatening to call ICE)
