Precarious Law: A Feminist Legal Analysis of the U.S. Asylum System

Abstract

This thesis examines the U.S. asylum system through the theoretical lenses of governmentality, precarity, and feminist topography to understand how asylum seekers are marginalized and excluded from protection. By drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, the thesis explores how the state's power shapes asylum seekers’ identities and legal status through bureaucratic processes, while also diminishing their vulnerability. The concept of precarity highlights an exacerbated sense of insecurity that is experienced by asylum seekers in the U.S because of the suspension of legal rights that constitutes the asylum system. Additionally, feminist topography is employed to further analyze the spatial, temporal limbo space of exclusion formed by the asylum system I argue is used as a tool of deterrence for future asylum seekers. Ultimately, these frameworks provide a comprehensive analysis of how asylum seekers are disregarded by the system, revealing the intersection of legal exclusion, social vulnerability, and violence. This thesis ultimately calls for governmental reform to create a more humane and equitable asylum process, emphasizing the need for systemic changes that address the root causes of exclusion and increased precarity in the current system.