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Border Challenges and Ethnic Struggles among the Hispanic Community
Following the September 9/11 terror attack on the United States, border security discourse moved towards strict regulation of the US-Mexico border to reduce insecurity threats. The United States increased militarization and developed infrastructure to control movement into the United States (Torres 193). However, the current discourse on border security has revealed a pattern of xenophobic legislation targeting MX-US border communities. The United States has developed laws such as the Arizona immigration reform and the anti-ethnic studies law to increase surveillance and control at the US-Mexico border.
The current border security legislation on border security reveals a conflict of power and domination in modern global capitalism. The US-Mexican border has become a site for danger pollution, violence, and the advancement of dominant political ideologies at both the state and national levels (Torres 200). According to the government, the immigration reform law, SB 1070, and anti-immigration policies imposed by the state government of Arizona are designed to keep communities safe from undocumented immigrants who threaten national security (Torres 195). A statement made by a former migration commissioner denied the argument that most Mexican and Hispanic immigrants arrive at the border without documents, stating that more than two-thirds of the immigrants are documented (Torres 195). According to Torres (197), the current laws act as an avenue for disseminating negative political discourses targeting Hispanic communities at the US-Mexican border. The SB 1070 and HB2281 discourses in Arizona were highly endorsed by the Republicans (Torres 197). Historically, the Hispanic community has been inclined to vote against the Republicans, which may be a source of underlying political tension (Torres 195). The Arizona immigration policies are, therefore, political interests disguised as securitization reforms.
The implementation of border security measures shows extreme efforts to blame, label, and demonize Hispanic immigrants with the aim of civic manipulation. The legislation governing border security at the US-Mexico border have influenced negative social construction around race and criminal activity. Today, the US-Mexico border security measures are constructed around criminal law and not immigration law. More than 6,000 federal law enforcement agents, border patrol agents, and surveillance technology such as cameras and stadium lights operate at the border (Torres 195). The law enforcement agents are backed by up to date counter-smuggling technology and constant highway checkpoints. There have been suggestions to build pedestrian fences and vehicle barriers to create more obstacles for undocumented immigration. The massive security measures have created fear and hostility towards the Hispanic immigrants (Torres 196). Research conducted by the Immigration Policy Center showed that immigrants were less likely to engage in crime than native-born Americans (Torres 197). The current portrayal of Hispanic immigrants as a significant threat to the United States security has created new avenues for discrimination and stereotyping of immigrants as security threats. The punitive measures and misrepresentation of the Hispanic immigrants as security threats have a dehumanizing effect and negatively their sense of identity.
Hispanic community immigrants have continued to push for more inclusive border security management legally. The Hispanic community’s efforts face significant barriers from political coalitions that continue to drive resistance and xenophobia against Hispanic immigrants. Continued collective organization and transformative leadership will be necessary to represent the Hispanic community and reduce dehumanization.
Work Cited
Torres R.S. (2012) Border Challenges and Ethnic Struggles for Social Justice in Arizona: Hispanic Communities Under Siege. 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_13