Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
der .. , individual and cotlcctin' idellliti(· . . , and lilt' s('lIse alld n<llllr('
or SI a\(' SO\C1TiglllY and <llt!h()ril~. III 'hc Ille,llItillH', these (,hang'cs
h,lH' Icca..,1 the dOJllcstic order, challenged traditional strnCllll"eS,
tllOdified social arLltlgcIlH'IlI.. . , transfOrIl1cd the forcc<.; or integra-
tion atld haglllt'tll<-Iliolt. and accckr:ued the dynalllics or inclusioll
,HId exclusion. In ("onseqlH'Il('{', \Y('sterll societies ,UT witnessing
Ill(' cllwrg-(,IHt' oJ Inan\' ('xi.'itt'ntial and cOIlt"cpltlal LlIlXit'lies and
fears ;\h()ut Iltcil idt'lItit" securily, and well-heing. A.s ~LlIlill
llcisicr as .. crts,:'! Iltigl<ltioll is at lht' focal point of thc intcrrelated
dYllamics o! identity, horders, and orders. By its transnational char-
,lcltT, its (hlt;unic ;uld its impact Oil pcople and institutions at all
rlH' ;llllhor~ .lI(· rt'~(,d[( hn~ ,11 lilt' {:ClIll(' d't.tlldes sur l('s (,(lnnit~, Paris. (:e\,11all
i~ .Llsc) at Ih(' Jn~tlllll d·FIIl(k.~ Pn1iliqlll'S (IEP) (1(' Paris: '1~()lILlla u',Kh,'s <It Ih(' {'IJi-
\t'] ~ilY uJ RUlH']] ,ll]d lile I 'nin'J sil\ or J'<lris X·:'\,i'l[lh·]T('.
21
22 Tile Sccllritizatioll of Migrntioll ill Wl',,/crn Societies
coulltrics and tht, United Stales have l;et'll marked, since the
I q~Os, by a IT\Trsal or tll(> image of migrants ,Illd asvlulll seekers in
the public span'. III hoth caSt's. migrallh, who we1"e vvekollled aftel
\-\'orld \Var 11 a.., a liscfullaiJor ("0 rct' , arc llOW pn'selltcd in political
discourses as crilIlinab, troublem,Lkt'rs, ecollomic and social dc-
frauders, [elTorisl.'>, drug traffickers, ullassimilablc persolls, and so
forth. They arc delI1olli/"t'd as heillg increasingly associated with or-
gani/.ed crime" Tht'v arc ,ICTllsed of taking.ioiJs <lway from lIation-
aI...., taking advantage of social sCn'ices, and harming lile identity of
host cOllntries.
IlItroduced in public debates as a political hot-button topic,
migratioll is thus tr<ltlsformed into a threat not ollly to tile slate hut
also 10 the secllrity ,lilt! Ihe idelltity of Iht, host society. Vv'hat is ilIl-
portant to stress here is that through sllch a presentatioll, the mi-
gratioIl isslle, which \va.., not at the origin inherently st'cllritari<Lll,
lH'came Ollt' involving lInv actors and leading to stricter puhlic
policie . . and to Ill'W sllrn'illallc(' and control (it-vices. More spccifi-
call\', it impliell the escalatiol1 of immigratioIl-colltrol policies mix-
illg restricted "thin" and extl'nded '"thick" policing at the hordeI'.
inside lht' territOl"V and in migrallts' cOlllltries of origill da the im-
pleml'lItation of a lOugh visa systcnl.: l The lumping together of all
people who (TOSS till' horder involved" policy of amalgamation of
lIligralll~ and asylulll seekers, and this led to the perception of
A.'Isc Ceyhafl {:;r An(/~ta~sia Tsoukala 23
tilt' <;tl,(,,<;~ Oil loss of cOlltrol Uncit'fst<ltes the degn't' to which lilt'
state has <lClu;tIl~' slrtlclured, conditioned, and evell enabled
(often unintentiollally) ctuHiestitll, bord('r crossing-s, ,1Ild ov('r-
SI<ltcs the degree to whi( h the SLUt' has been able to control its
borders ill Iht' pas!.l;
Ih(' llH'dia-<llId llol ('H'II hy SOl1lC scholars. The latter either cOlltl'nt
tht"IIlSt'h'('S with reproducing tht' seclIril,lrian "criminalllligrant" the-
sis hy llIohilizing to this t'nd all availahle data or Ihey seck to explain
lilt' "prohlclll" b~' It'ilTt'IICillg cultlll'a]i", thcOl'it, ..... :!, Thes(' Iheorit,s,
which iIllP"\(' till' "Pl'oJlt'lIsit\", of lllig-I<tnls to crill\(> to cultural fe<t-
IIII"('S, hav(' fOCIISI'c1 Oil th(' hckt\'ior 01 s('("olld-geJlcl'ation migrallts.
28 Tile SccuritizlltioH of Migratiol/ in Western Societies
Proposition IH7, alld the 1996 US welfare lav·,.' all integrated into
legislation the argument that illegal migrants wefe fref'-riders on
welbuT, adopting provisions that denied social security, unemploy-
ment insurance, f~lI11ilv allowallccs, public hOllsing, and retifement
henefits to llTldo('ulllCllted migrants ('ven if they paid taxes. Propo-
sition IH7 walltcd to go further-to refuse access to fJublic schools
for childrcn of illegal migrants; but Ihis provision was overthrmvll
by thc federal .jurisdiction. The practical consequence of this has
bce!l the crt',lIioll of a !It'w control mechanism for finding illegal
people: plan-'s slIch as henefit agellcies havE' hct'Tl transformt'd into
immigratioll-statlls ch('( kpoints. Hi
In s('\'('ral cOllnlrie . . , procedures for the regrouping of" families
and for naturali/.atio!l have heell rcstricted. For instance, in France
tile IegislatioJl OIl 1l,ltionality has heen amended in ordf'r to limit
the ,1IIlOTllatic illlplt'lIlt-'Jltatioll of tht' jus soli principle, and mixt'd
marriages haw' ht't'll sul~i('ct to cOlltrol. In Crt't'ce, mixed mar-
ri,lges ha\'t' 110 more df('(', on lile naturalization procedure. In
'iOIlH' {Olllllries (e.g., Francc), public schools are ht-'ing transformed
into cOJltrol poillts, \.... I1(,l"e parents, while registering tlu-ir childrcn,
Illay Ill' chcckt-d tor immigratioll slat liS (this is forbiddell hv Ll\v,
1)11t ill pr;lctic(' (1 happt'll.s).
Arc thest' policies .just symbolic galllcs~ 01' do they, by deter-
mining the pattern (If iJltcrac1ioIl, go flirt her? It dot's indecd seem
llial, Llr frolll beillg silllplv symbolic, these policies transform tht'
'i1ructlllTS or signil'ic(lt]()ll and h,I\'{' profoulld effects on social
inciusillll/ intt-'gl atioll proc(','ises. This can he ,.,,('en c1earlv ill horder-
control practic(',<;, ill tlH' facc-to-fact' relations betweell police offi-
cers and people submitted to idel1tit~, checks alld immigratioll-
>;tatns COil trois. Quitt' ortell, controls operatc tlcconling to criteria
()ther than those fixed hy law. These practiccs in fact rcl1ect the ,'ie-
(,lIrity ~lg{,ll('i(',,,' perception .." of \vlio is <t Illigrant and \vho is a citi-
I.ell, as 111,1\1\' scholal s havt:' poillted nut.- I , Such perccptlOlls arc not
Notes
!\'Iigra!ioll ,I~ <I Ttllt'''1 ill SOIlIhern Fllropcan COlllllrics," paper pl-est'llted
,It the ·llst :Inllll,,1 (OIl\'t'lI[iOIl of IS,\, I.()~ Angeles, \1arch 14-1H, ~OOO;
"( :ri me {'I i Illtll igT,11 iOlll'Il FIll-opt"" \\'orkill,~' papn" 00/04, (:('I)! re d 'Ft lIdes
de IT11lIlicil{" ('I d(',~ \1igl,ltiou'i, llnin'l"sill"' de Lii'g'(', /\pril ~O()O; "La nilll-
IIlCllisati()1l des imIlligH~~ VII Ellropt'," ill L HOllclli and C. Sainali, ('(is., 1.(/
,Hw'hilll' rll}lUII),: Pmfiqlu,\ 1'1 di,\((II1r1 ,\l'l'Iuilllirn {1';lIis: I.'Espri! f'r<lppCllr,
~(J()11. pp. ~:~.-)-~~n: 1. \\',I("(jlIJtll, 1.1'1 firi,IUIII dl' la /I//Ih'f' (P;lris: RaisoIls
(l'<lgir, 1~lq~IJ,
I:~. 11'\\'(- IIII Il()! lake 111!t1 a("etlunt illlllligr<ltil)ll oll"t'I1St'S, Illtlsl migrants
.lIT ch,lrp,Td with pr0l'('ll\ or drug olfcll'ics: H. I, A.lbr('("hL "Milloriti('s,
(:1 inl{', and (:ritllill,tl./II,'ili( l' ill tilt' Fcdnal J{{'pt"~lic of CtTm<tll\'," ill I. H.
\1<tr~ltall, ('d., HillOlilin, ,\/igmrll.\, find (:rillll' (l.ondoll: Sage, 19~i7), p. ]01;
I, \!\:'anjllilllt. "Iles 'CllIWlllis COtllllHHics,'" \('11'.\ dt' la }('I"hni"lu' ('}I ,\(if'no',., \()-
,.ialn I::!!J (1~)~lql: ('l.l: 1\1. Barb;lg-li, Immi,l!,Tfl:.iont, f'l l'I'imirlfllilrl In !/ah"
(Bologll;'; 111\11di!lo Iqq~,\). pp. :~I()-:-l~: L H. ,'vLtrsh<ll1. "\1inoritl{'s, Crlm(',
,wd (:rillliu<ll.lll ... tic(' ill th('l'nilC'd Statn," ill i\Lu-sllall, lIotel:~, pp. ~l-~::!.
! 4, ])IW I() lIlt" inclca..,iIlg ,Iltcn!ioll p<lid to IHlhlic h(';\lth aIlt! Ill!(TlIal
"'{'Cllri!\' i:;,'ill('s ,11 tht' n;Ui{JlI.d, EuropeaJl <1lld inlt'rllational political it'\'cls,
,dl WCSI('1"l1 {Olllllril's have hardt'llt'li ill the I !190s tll(' rqll nsioll of drug
(Inl'n~{'",.
38 The St'CIJritizatio!1 of Migration ill Wl'slcrn Soeidies
lio[J, ,\llanl.[ .
.'1'2. SIICI! as the {;()I·si("all:>. ill France and till' Ba.'i<jllt·S in Spain and
Fr(lll('(, .
:-U. (;eyiJdll, llote 1'2.
:1'1. Repian'llwllt I'\'fig-r<ltioll: b it <l Solutioll to Declining ,1Il(\ Ageing
P()pllblil)ll'i~ ( ;'\J Rt'IH)I"1. ~OO().
Ayst' Cl'yh{/1I t"7' Anllstllssill T.~nllklllll 39