Agencies and Policies of Social Control on the United States Mexico Border and their Effect on Crossers

• In Event: 469 - Section on International Migration Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 08. The Remaking of the U.S.-Mexico Border

Abstract

The September 11th attacks have caused changes in immigration and homeland security policies that have drastically altered the nature of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border (Anderson 2007; Andreas 2003). This paper explores how governmental social control impacts the current border crossing process and border populations, and it will inform a greater project to expand on what we know about how changes in policy impacts the experiences and identities of border crossing populations. A review identifying key governmental agencies and policies on the United States side that exert social control over the border and border-crossers is supplemented by field observations from a pilot project. Participant observation data was collected at the El Paso Del Norte International Pedestrian Bridge during January-May 2013 to capture the experience of border crossers and inform a future project begin connecting field findings to the central questions of interest. How does social control influence the identity formation of border-crossers and how does this undermine cross-border relationships between the U.S. and Mexico? This paper provides suggestions for future investigations into the impacts of policy changes on border-crossers, as they can provide insight into the negative as well as positive effects of policy changes and give room for useful suggestions for better policies.

Author

• Alma Angelica Hernandez, University of New Mexico