The Real Crisis at the Mexico‐U.S. Border: A Humanitarian and Not an Immigration Emergency

Misguided U.S. policies since 1980 have created a large undocumented population within the United States. Border militarization curtailed circular undocumented migration from Mexico, and Cold War politics precluded the acceptance of refugees from Central America fleeing violence and economic turmoil...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociological focus (Kent, Ohio) Ohio), 2020-09, Vol.35 (3), p.787-805
Main Author: Massey, Douglas S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Borders
Cold War
Crises
Detention
economic instability
Humanitarianism
Immigrants
Immigration
Immigration policy
Internal migration
Latin American cultural groups
Migration
Militarization
policy
Politics
Refugees
Trump
xenophobia
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Misguided U.S. policies since 1980 have created a large undocumented population within the United States. Border militarization curtailed circular undocumented migration from Mexico, and Cold War politics precluded the acceptance of refugees from Central America fleeing violence and economic turmoil unleashed by America’s intervention in the region. Although undocumented migration from Mexico has ended, resources devoted to border apprehensions and internal deportations continue to rise, pushing an ever larger number of Central Americans into an immigrant detention system that is ill‐equipped to handle them. Although the Trump administration portrays the situation as an immigration crisis, what is really unfolding along the border and within the United States is an unprecedented humanitarian cross that in so many ways is one of our own making.
ISSN:0884-8971
0038-0237
1573-7861
DOI:10.1111/socf.12613