Citations Needed

Episode 184 - Nativism in Media Part 1: How Dehumanization and Militarization Manufactured a "Border Crisis"

Wed Jul 12 2023

US immigration crisisborder crisismigrant crisisimmigration crisismedia influencehistorical contextrecent developmentspolicy impactconsequences of border policiescomplexities of immigration discourseimpact of borders on societyreflections on the border crisis

Description

This episode explores the US immigration crisis, its historical context, media influence, recent developments, policy impact, consequences of border policies, complexities of immigration discourse, impact of borders on society, and reflections on the border crisis. It highlights how the movement of people is not inherently harmful and emphasizes the need to address root causes instead of stigmatizing migrants. The episode also examines the role of borders in perpetuating global inequities and calls for a shift towards understanding migration through human stories.

Insights

Media Coverage Distorts Immigration Realities

Media coverage of immigration crises often obscures the US's role in creating conditions that force people to flee and reinforces false notions about immigrants and asylum seekers. Stigmatizing language and crisis framing deflect responsibility away from the United States and portray migrants as burdens on society.

Borders as Mechanisms of Oppression

Borders are intentionally designed to harm people and lack humanitarian considerations. The militarization of borders, technologies like border walls, and violence at the borders serve the interests of those in power. Borders contribute to massive inequalities caused by colonialism, exploitation, and capitalism, preventing marginalized communities from accessing resources and participating in global wealth.

Complexities of Immigration Discourse

Immigration discourse is often driven by contradictory narratives and racism. Immigrant labor is used to fear monger about welfare-receiving immigrants and undermine domestic labor. Borders are instrumentalized to fracture social services and labor protections, with racism being used to attack welfare policies and exclude certain groups from unions.

Consequences of Border Policies

Border policies have real-world consequences that are downstream effects of colonial extraction, climate change, and economic policies. The heavily militarized and racialized nature of the US-Mexico border is based on a land grab in the 19th century. Enforcing borders comes at a high cost, both financially and in terms of human lives. Most displaced people are in low-income countries near their home country, not at the US-Mexico border or other developed countries.

Understanding Borders and Migration

The framing of immigration as a crisis equates human existence with urgent national security threats. Dehumanizing language shapes public perception and justifies violent responses at the border. Individual crises that lead people to migrate are often overlooked in favor of focusing on the crisis label. The decision to immigrate is driven by a lack of security, belonging, and stability in home countries.

Chapters

The US Immigration Crisis
Historical Context of Immigration Crises
Media Influence on Immigration Crises
Recent Developments and Policy Impact
Impact of Immigration Policies and Border Violence
Understanding Borders and Migration
The Role of Borders in Global Inequities
Borders as Mechanisms of Oppression
Consequences of Border Policies
The Complexities of Immigration Discourse
The Impact of Borders on Society
Reflections on the Border Crisis

Summary

Transcript

The US Immigration Crisis

00:04 - 07:17

The US immigration crisis is framed as a border crisis, migrant crisis, or immigration crisis, but the movement of people itself is not inherently harmful.
The real crisis lies in the militarized and inhumane response to unwanted populations seeking refuge in the US.
Media coverage of immigration obscures the US's role in creating conditions that force people to flee and reinforces false notions about immigrants and asylum seekers.
The media narrative retcons the US as an innocent victim instead of acknowledging its history of imperialist violence.
The term 'crisis' dehumanizes and demonizes asylum seekers, deflecting responsibility away from the United States.
Stigmatizing language around a border crisis avoids addressing root causes and portrays migrants as burdens on society.
Warnings of an immigration crisis date back to at least the 1850s.

Historical Context of Immigration Crises

07:07 - 14:22

The ratification of Sioux treaties in Minnesota attracted more immigration, leading to a crisis in the history of Minnesota.
Crisis language increased in the early 20th century as immigration grew before World War I.
The Philadelphia Inquirer used crisis language in 1905 to describe European immigrants as a burden on America.
Similar crisis framing was used during the Dust Bowl era, with migrants fleeing drought and other dangers.
Right-wing solutions were proposed for the migrant crisis, including work requirements and concerns about radicalism.
Media warnings about illegal immigration started to emerge in the 1970s, primarily focused on Mexico and Latin America.
Mexican migration to the US increased significantly between 1970 and 1980, with circular migration being common.
The Bracero program exploited Mexican workers for cheap labor during World War II.
After the program ended, Mexican workers continued seeking work in the US without legal rights or job guarantees.
Mexican officials discouraged immigration until the 1960s when they encouraged departures as a solution to unemployment and population growth.

Media Influence on Immigration Crises

14:03 - 20:55

Media in the US overwhelmingly reinforced nativist responses to Mexican immigrants, invoking racism and fear-mongering.
News outlets published articles about illegal immigration, emphasizing the burden on resources and job competition.
These articles failed to mention larger economic changes that contributed to unemployment and the fact that immigrants often took low-paying jobs.
Fear-mongering continued throughout the decade with headlines about immigration crises and huddled masses of illegal aliens.
The US's role in creating instability in Latin America was omitted from these narratives.
In the 80s and 90s, globalization and free trade deals further contributed to immigration issues.
Headlines cautioning about a border crisis still persist into the present day, with media sounding alarms about surges in immigration.
Examples include headlines from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Recent Developments and Policy Impact

20:39 - 27:42

The Washington Post condemns the president for incentivizing migrants to come to the border
The Biden administration's incongruous messaging led Haitians and other migrants to believe they would be welcomed
The disconnect between official dissuasion and on-the-ground reality has been seen as an invitation to cross the border
The Washington Post criticizes Biden for appearing too nice compared to Trump's cruelty
Title 42, a policy restricting entry of undocumented immigrants, was enacted under Trump and expired earlier this year
Former CDC officials and medical experts have denounced Title 42 as violating asylum obligations
Title 42 expulsions have led to increased criminal networks preying on migrants and family separations
Media portrays the end of Title 42 as a crisis, blaming it on COVID, recession, smugglers, and armed groups without mentioning US involvement in Latin America

Impact of Immigration Policies and Border Violence

27:13 - 33:48

The New York Times article on violence in Latin America fails to mention US involvement or right-wing elements in Columbia.
The US is portrayed as a beleaguered innocent victim with no control over the immigration challenge.
The resource burden framing of migrants is false, as the US has ample resources to address crises.
Federalism allows cities and states to use false scarcity and austerity to blame immigrants for limited resources.
Media coverage of the border crisis generates anti-immigrant sentiment, despite undocumented immigrants representing only 3% of the population.
Undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes and are less likely to take public benefits than native-born citizens.
Fear mongering about undocumented immigrants is unfounded.

Understanding Borders and Migration

33:20 - 40:58

Undocumented immigrants face barriers to eligibility and fear of arrest, detention, and deportation.
The narrative of undocumented immigrants causing harm to the economy is not supported by the numbers.
The militarization of the border has led to a significant increase in resources allocated to border security.
Funding for border security has increased over five times since 1993.
There is enough money available for providing immigrants with jobs, homes, and healthcare upon entry.
DHS grants provide endless funding for drones, cops, cages, batons, and guns.
The framing of immigration as a crisis equates human existence with urgent national security threats.
The use of dehumanizing language shapes public perception and justifies violent responses at the border.
Individual crises that lead people to migrate are often overlooked in favor of focusing on the crisis label.

The Role of Borders in Global Inequities

40:41 - 47:15

Human movement is flattened under the crisis label, turning migration into a national security threat.
Media and political speech often present stories of migration as aggregate numbers, denying the individual humanity behind them.
The US-Mexico border generates statistics of expulsions and denies entry to people who have experienced trauma.
US immigration policy has long used border enforcement as a form of punishment and deterrence.
The cruelty has been the point since Operation Gatekeeper in the mid-90s.
Border security is an industry that benefits from border violence and requires the perpetuation of a humanitarian crisis.

Borders as Mechanisms of Oppression

46:51 - 53:27

The border system is intentionally designed to harm people and lacks humanitarian considerations.
Technologies like the CBP One app and border walls are used to deter and push back migrants.
Violence, injury, and cruelty are at the heart of border policies, which are lucrative for those in power.
Massive inequalities caused by colonialism, exploitation, and capitalism drive migration from oppressed states to wealthier countries.
Borders serve as mechanisms for hoarding wealth earned at the expense of other nations.
The creation of modern borders is a result of decolonization and the need to protect accumulated wealth.
Wealthy countries contribute significantly to climate damage in low and middle-income countries while profiting from carbon-polluting industries.
Borders prevent marginalized communities from accessing resources and participating in global wealth.

Consequences of Border Policies

53:03 - 59:01

The concepts of borders and immigration restrictions are not just theoretical, but have real-world consequences.
These consequences are downstream effects of the US border and its history of colonial extraction, climate change, and economic policies such as trading and invoicing in the WTO.
The US is responsible for a significant amount of harm and cause-and-effect relationships that contribute to the border crisis.
Other countries also have borders, but the heavily militarized and racialized nature of the US-Mexico border is largely based on a land grab in the 19th century.
The cost of enforcing these borders is astronomical, with externalization of the border into Mexico being one example.
Most displaced people in the world are in low-income countries near their home country, not at the US-Mexico border or other developed countries.
Borders vary in their permeability and enforcement, with the US-Mexico border being one of the most violent borders in the world.
Removing borders does not mean everyone would automatically migrate to another country due to factors like racism and difficult living conditions.

The Complexities of Immigration Discourse

58:41 - 1:05:15

The decision to immigrate is not taken lightly and is often driven by a lack of security, belonging, and stability in their home countries.
Immigrant labor is used to both fear monger about welfare-receiving immigrants and undermine domestic labor.
The contradictory narratives of lazy immigrants taking American jobs are self-reinforcing and malleable.
Immigration is used as a boogeyman to fracture social services and labor protections.
Racism has historically been used to attack welfare policies and exclude black people from unions.
Facts don't matter in policy discourse; racism is instrumentalized to further fracture social benefits.
The cost of borders includes expenditures on border technologies, enforcement apparatus, and colonial financing.
Borders are a series of transactions that are expensive and often deadly, with permeability differing across time and people.

The Impact of Borders on Society

1:04:49 - 1:11:02

Borders are constructed globally based on friction and conflict.
New states and border walls are used as bulwarks of oppression, both racially, ethnically, financially, and ideologically.
Dehumanization is a common theme in the story of borders.
The militarization of borders may correlate with increasing inequities.
The US-Mexico border and European borders exhibit more violence and aggression than other instances in history.
The same patterns of carceral violence can be seen at the US-Mexico border and within the United States against people of color.
The system and the way people are imagined in security theater may be the problem rather than individuals or groups of people.
Centering human stories helps to understand crises from different perspectives.

Reflections on the Border Crisis

1:10:42 - 1:17:04

The word 'crisis' should be thought about in terms of who it affects
Desensitized language helps to sanitize responsibility for the border crisis
The US contributes to and can alleviate the border crisis through policy decisions
Dehumanization, militarization, and violence at the borders are the result of human choices
The next episode will discuss the deserving and undeserving immigrant labels
Morgan McCaslin is leaving the Citations Needed team after being a crucial part since 2018