Doctoral Dissertation Research: Challenges in Central American Migrant Communities

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

SES-1128888 Peter Katzenstein Noelle Brigden Cornell University Doctoral Dissertation Research: Challenges in Central American Migrant CommunitiesAbstractSeveral academic studies have examined the dangers facing unauthorized migrants at the borders. But the border zone represents only one segment of a long and dangerous journey for Central American migrants, who face increasing criminal violence along clandestine routes through Mexico. Meanwhile, internal policing within the United States and Mexico augments border patrol. These new immigration enforcement strategies target the arteries of the migration system crisscrossing nation-states, not just their frontiers. Along these migratory routes, immigration enforcement has transformed migration practices, but it has not eradicated the informal institutions and practices that facilitate undocumented migration. This dissertation research analyzes how intensified policing transforms migration practices, and how it affects migrants along the Central American routes through Mexico to the United States. To this end, the study involves U.S.-based ethnographic interviews, mapmaking workshops, and participant observation with Central American migrants at various stages in their journeys. Broader ImpactsThe public has shown great interest in immigration reform, both efforts to curtail the arrival of undocumented migrants, as well as efforts to make the process of migration more humane. The intended and unintended consequences of border control and policing mechanisms has sparked considerable public debate. This study seeks to inform our understanding of how to balance the need for national security with the need to ensure social and political stability in sending countries as well as the safety and welfare of migrants (including limiting their exposure to violence and exploitation).