Presented by: Katrina Hindman CES 491 King

1. Transnational Movement of Bodies Across the U.S. - Mexican Border “Those who make it across the border are subject to 150 years of Chicano racism. Caught between being treated as criminals and being able to eat, between resistance and deportation, between being poor and being exploited.” Gloria Anzaldua -Borderlands/La Frontera Presented by: Katrina Hindman CES 491 King

2. Citizenship is marked by abstract definitions as to who is to be included and excluded from the political community. Developed by images, assumptions and representations that are exclusive and marginalizing. Identity is hard and solid and affirmed or denied by societies dominate institutions. The crossed are considered aliens whether they poses documents or not-forced shame. There has been an increase of transnational character of global migration flows, cultural networks and social political practices. Resident non-citizens work and live in transnational cities throughout the U.S. while maintaining social and political networks that link them to people and places in their countries and communities of origin. Border cultures are created when two countries merge. Borders are developed to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them- A dividing line. The U.S.-Mexico Border is in a constant state of transition--negotiated by the U.S. Daily interactions between two cultures place a set of contradictions in the minds of migrant workers. Floating in and out of English and Spanish--Switching of Codes. Walk out of one culture into another, but are in all cultures at the same time. Resulting in the shifting of multiple identities Transfer of cultural and spiritual values of one group to another (conflicting information and points of view)-cultural collision Border Culture

3. 1. Political Economic Context: Neo-Liberal globalization, creates conditions necessitating, facilitating or impeding migration and return migration across borders. 2. Historical Context: Historical development of interstate relations between Mexico and the U.S., the changing context of reception and exit at different historical periods, changing state policy frameworks that have affected the practices of transnational migration and citizenship and exclusion across the border. 3. Socio-cultural Context: formation and continuity of migration patterns over time and from place to place EX: migrant recruitment and migration histories. Determines who migrates, where they come from and where they go. Affected social structures of community formation (transnational space) on both sides of the boarder. 4. Institutional Context: Sets up opportunities and barriers that migrants must accommodate to or resist as they attempt to construct new spaces for practicing citizenship across boarders. EX: Legal framework of permissions and constraints governing access to citizenship and dual citizenship rights. Four Types of Contexts which Affect Conditions and Opportunities of Migrant Workers

4. 1880’s Anglos illegally migrated into Texas and part of Mexico. 1836 Battle of the Alamo – War broke out and Mexico defeated the U.S. Anglos used their loss to symbolize the character of Mexicans to be cowards and villainous. In turn this legitimized white imperialist dominance, take over and creation of the other. 1846 Battle of Guadalupe - TX, NM, AZ, CO and part of CA were taken away from Mexico by the U.S. Treaty was never honored. Anglo Superiority Established - Complete political power, dispossessed and separated Mexican’s from their identity and history. Mexicans were penalized by the U.S. government and became foreigners in their own land. History of Land

5. 1913 the American railroads were recruiting labor in central Mexico and offered free transportation. Mexicans were exempt from labor restrictions and taxes, while the U.S. welcomed Mexican refugees fleeing from the Revolution in the early 19th century. 1924 Immigration Act, went un-enforced along the U.S.-Mexico border for five years. Purpose of recruitment was to establish seasonal migration that would correspond to agricultural labor demand and which would retract according to need. Disposable workforce. The Great Depression ended the open door policy. The border was shut and unwanted aliens were deported. Between 1929 and 1935, almost half a million Mexicans were deported. Bracero Program again brought Mexicans North to work on farms and this brought in over one million Mexican workers. Operation Wetback forced over one million Mexicans home in 1954. In 1980’s Special Agricultural Workers Program (SAW) and Replenishment of Agricultural Workers Program (RAW) benefit again from Mexican labor by giving “choice” young Mexicans temporary visas-led to dramatic rise in the number of CA’s illegal immigrants, as field workers overstayed their permits. History of Policies

6. U.S. Immigration Policy • 1986 the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was passed with the goal of regaining control of U.S. borders.--Granted token amnesty to Mexicans who were already in the U.S. for five years. • Doubled the size of the Border Patrol from 2500 agents to 4800. • The Immigration Act of 1990 for the first time authorized the INS to make arrests for violations of any federal law. • Operation Blockade 1993-mobolized agents around the clock duty along the Rio Grande.--This strategy redirected, rather than stop the flow of U.S.-bound migrants.

7. NAFTA: economic integration which expanded capital mobility accompanied by increased militarization of border. Attempts to restrict and prohibit mobility of Mexican migrant despite economic demand for their labor-Contradiction of State Policy! Guest Worker Programs: trap migrants in a permanent non-immigrant status with little or no political rights. U.S. plays a significant role in driving migration through a transnational web of business, labor and markets. This is why immigration policy fails time and time again. Migration Pressure (what causes people to cross) can be defined as the relationship between two components: migration potential and migration demand. Northern demand historically for labor. Programs and Policies that Influence Migration

8. Preserve flow of cheap low skilled labor to American Business. Limit potential costs to employers and tax payers. Are not allowed to bring families-no children to educate. Workers return home after contract-no old age entitlements. No health care-workers required to pay for it. Anti-immigrant sentiment-control and exploit workers. No need to offer citizenship-maintain legal and illegal status. Programs/Policies are designed to maintain high levels of migration and at the same time anchor anti- immigrant movements in America. Employers segregate immigrant workforce, put workers against each other, recruit work and maintain a carrot and stick relationship with them. State pass laws, resurrect old laws, programs that distinguish foreigners from non-foreigners, state sanctioned temporary labor, policies towards exclusion not inclusion, power to control movements of foreign workers, desire to admit control and policing immigrants. Illegal to work with out green cards, but farmers work them because they make money off of their illegal status. Northern Migration Reflects Political Agenda of Employers and the State

9. Immigration Policy continues unchanged despite its apparent failure. Policy Facilitates migration! Illegal immigration is the result of the efficient interaction of transnational forces. Immigrants are valuable when illegal because U.S. holds power to negotiate terms. Mass expenditures-yet has little or no impact on decreasing immigration. Has succeeded in creating a military presence along boarder and has placated labor to benefit U.S.--Illegal migration reflects needs of the system. Illegal labor continues to grow because it continues to benefit powerful international forces. Borders channel migrants into the most efficient and exploitable labor forces Malleable laborer force by lack of legal definition. Conclusion

10. Conclusion Continued • The passage of restrictive immigration acts in the past decade have increased the intensity of the border war. • AFSC reports of high levels of human rights abuse by the Border Patrol. • Policies have incited Border Patrol and racist hate groups to new levels of harassment of undocumented immigrants. • The U.S.-Mexico immigration policy is complimented with racism and nativism and together they form the mechanism that makes policy customary to the American public. • The tightening of the border has resulted in criminalizing migration and has damaged border relations.

11. Works Cited • Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands La Frontera: the New Mestiza. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Book Company, 1987. 1-203. • Hahamovitch, Cindy. "Creating Perfect Immigrants: Guestworkers of the World in Historical Perspective." Labor History 44 (2003): 69-94. ProQuest. Washington State University. • Orenstein, Catherine C. "Illegal Transnational Labor: Mexicans in California and Haitians in the Dominican Republic." Journal of International Affairs 48 (1995): 601-605. ProQuest. Washington State University. • Smith, Michael P., and Matt Bakker. Citizenship Across Borders: the Political Transnationalism of El Migrante. New York: Cornell UP, 2008. 3-249. • Stevenson, Nick. Cultural Citizenship: Cosmopolitan Questions. Open UP, 2003. 1-176.