Invisible Victims: Undocumented Migrants and the Aftermath of September 11

This article examines the processes of investigation and gathering evidence about victims of the September 11 attacks to better understand the inability of state and nonstate institutions to effectively deal with the invisibility of undocumented migrants in terms of providing assistance and recognit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Politics & society 2014-09, Vol.42 (3), p.399-421
Main Authors: Délano, Alexandra, Nienass, Benjamin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climate
Communication
Employment
Families & family life
Government Agencies
Identification documents
Immigration
Legal Status
Migrants
Noncitizens
September 11
September 11th 2001
Terrorism
Trust
Undocumented Immigrants
Victimization
Victims
Victims of crime
Welfare Services
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Summary:This article examines the processes of investigation and gathering evidence about victims of the September 11 attacks to better understand the inability of state and nonstate institutions to effectively deal with the invisibility of undocumented migrants in terms of providing assistance and recognition at a moment of tragedy. The failure to make the invisible visible or to address the very question of visibility publicly is explained by three major reasons: 1) A general fear of coming forward on the part of undocumented migrants or their families, partly as a result of their legal status and their lack of trust in government agencies, which was compounded by ineffective communication about available relief services; 2) different procedural requirements and logics of evidence used by government and nongovernmental relief agencies, which, in some cases, made it impossible for undocumented migrants or their families to provide proof of their presence at the site or employment in the businesses affected; 3) the context of 9/11 as a disruptive event that influenced the overall climate in which issues of victimhood and immigration status could be addressed.
ISSN:0032-3292
1552-7514
DOI:10.1177/0032329214543259