Abstract
This chapter examines a few cases of borderlanders in the region Paso del Norte to illustrate the dislocations in justice and righteousness that the current immigration and citizenship regime has produced. The analysis calls attention to several types of dislocations: the economic, political, and racial disenfranchisement of some and the privileged condition of others, based on an increasingly flawed legal immigration and citizenship system that includes and excludes on the bases of a mere accident of life, one’s birthplace. To this, the chapter adds two other grinding processes, the globalization and securitization of daily life, to show how an individual’s condition—with or without papers—bears hard on his or her access to opportunities and ultimately the good life. The chapter concludes that the current legal immigration system balkanizes human beings and creates a caste-like system that rubs against the values of freedom, democracy, and equality. Nowhere, it is argued, is this more evident than at the borders of inequality, where wealth and development meet poverty and underdevelopment.
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- 1.
For the reasons why the Immigration and Naturalization Service was dismantled and how it was recreated, see Donovan (2005).
- 2.
See, for example, the press release by the office of Congressman Roscoe G. Bartlett titled “Kill the Bad Bargain Senate Immigration Bill before It Kills Our Country” found in the Congress member’s official website http://bartlett.house.gov/UploadedFiles/IimmigrationBartlettColumn604007.pdf
- 3.
See Articles 9, 14, and 15 of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights. Document can be found at the following site: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm
- 4.
This argument is lucidly presented in Campbell (2009).
- 5.
“DHS Expands Expedited Removal Authority along Southwest Border” (September 14, 2005). DHS Press Release at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/archives/2005_press_releases/092005/09142005.xml (Accessed on January 2, 2011).
- 6.
See Are You Living in a Constitution-Free Zone? by the American Civil Liberties Union. Article found at http://www.aclu.org/national-security_technology-and-liberty/are-you-living-constitution-free-zone
- 7.
The issue of aliens and the constitution is not new. It has been widely discussed elsewhere. See, for example, the work of Neuman (1993).
- 8.
Access to Food Stamps for legal permanent residents was restored in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.
- 9.
For a lengthier explanation of this, see http://www.migrationinformation.org/usfocus/display.cfm?ID=45
- 10.
Information about this group can be found at http://www.laredmexicoelpaso.org/. The percentage of citizens varies, depending on the membership and who reports it. The lowest percentage cited, however, is about 70%, but it can possibly be as high as 90%. There are certain requirements to be a member of La Red. An implicit requirement seems to be a person of certain means, particularly because there is an initial fee of several hundreds of dollars and a minimum membership fee of 20 dollars a month.
- 11.
This growing gap between the rich and the poor, not only among individuals but among nations, and the relationship it keeps with citizenship and immigration is not new. It has been drawn attention to by authors such as Bruce R. Scott, who wrote that “As the poor have become more aware of inequality, rich nations have raised immigration barriers—making the world economy more like a gated community than a global village.” See Scott (2001).
- 12.
See Bernstein (2010). Article found at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/nyregion/31drug.html
- 13.
“Deportation of Illegal Immigrants Increases Under Obama” in The Washington Post (July 26, 2010). Article found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072501790.html (Accessed on January 5, 2011).
- 14.
For an interesting debate on the relationship between culture, politics, and law, see Barzilai (2003).
- 15.
According to the US Census Bureau, the top ten source countries for the US foreign-born population are Mexico, China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Cuba, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Canada, and Korea. Clearly, most new Americans are non-European. The same Bureau predicts that by 2050, one-quarter of the population will be of Hispanic origin. See www.census.gov
- 16.
See “Why Americans Think (Wrongly) That Illegal Immigrants Hurt the Economy” in Newsweek (May 14, 2010). Article: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/05/14/why-americans-think-wrongly-that-illegal-immigrants-hurt-the-economy.html
- 17.
In the website http://www.factcheck.org/2009/04/cost-of-illegal-immigrants/, a number of researchers set out to debunk a series of myths regarding immigration and welfare use. The piece is titled “Coast of Illegal Immigrants,” posted on April 6, 2009.
- 18.
See his book with Durand and Malone (2002).
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Payan, T. (2012). How Citizenship Produces Inclusion and Exclusion on the US-Mexico Border. In: Lusk, M., Staudt, K., Moya, E. (eds) Social Justice in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4150-8_3
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