This Is About a Fight Coming Here: A Discourse Analysis of Official Statements Regarding Refugee Resettlement

• In Event: Qualitative Work at the Intersection of Immigration and Crime

Abstract

Following a series of terrorist attacks in Paris, France on November 13th, 2015, many state officials in the United States are proposing to suspend the Obama administration`s plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees during the next fiscal year. Many state officials are proclaiming that such a response is a common sense approach to ensuring “national security.” Despite such reactions, many of their European counterparts have reconfirmed their commitment to resettling refugees since the attacks. Therefore, the purpose of this paper will be to analyze official speeches given by state officials in the United States. This paper will utilize a discourse analysis to understand how a racist discourse underlies responses that promote the strengthening of immigration controls. Moreover, this paper aims to uncover how ideas of the nation are being used as a vehicle for racism.

Author

• Nathalie Rita, University of Hawaii at Manoa