Why Border Enforcement Backfired

In this article the authors undertake a systematic analysis of why border enforcement backfired as a strategy of immigration control in the United States. They argue theoretically that border enforcement emerged as a policy response to a moral panic about the perceived threat of Latino immigration t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of sociology 2016-03, Vol.121 (5), p.1557-1600
Main Authors: Massey, Douglas S., Durand, Jorge, Pren, Karen A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Borders
Demography
Emigration and Immigration - legislation & jurisprudence
Enforcement
Hispanic Americans
History of medicine and histology
Humans
Immigration
Immigration policy
Law enforcement
Legislation as Topic
Male
Mexico
Migrant workers
Migrants
Migration
Militarization
Moral panic
North America
Policy
Politicians
Population Dynamics
Public Policy
Resource Materials
Social Control, Formal
Threats
Transients and Migrants
Undocumented immigrants
United States
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Summary:In this article the authors undertake a systematic analysis of why border enforcement backfired as a strategy of immigration control in the United States. They argue theoretically that border enforcement emerged as a policy response to a moral panic about the perceived threat of Latino immigration to the United States propounded by self-interested bureaucrats, politicians, and pundits who sought to mobilize political and material resources for their own benefit. The end result was a self-perpetuating cycle of rising enforcement and increased apprehensions that resulted in the militarization of the border in a way that was disconnected from the actual size of the undocumented flow. Using an instrumental variable approach, the authors show how border militarization affected the behavior of unauthorized migrants and border outcomes to transform undocumented Mexican migration from a circular flow of male workers going to three states into an 11 million person population of settled families living in 50 states.
ISSN:0002-9602
1537-5390
DOI:10.1086/684200