Comparing Mass Deportations and Mass Incarceration: An Intersectional Analysis of Capitalism and State Repression

Abstract

In the past decade, both the number and types of deportation have transformed. There has been a shift towards deporting convicted criminals and a concomitant focus on interior enforcement4immigration policing within the United States as opposed to along the borders. Along with this has come a rise in the number of deportees who have families. The underlying reasoning was to deter illegal border crossing and remove unauthorized immigrants before they become integrated into U.S. communities. Throughout history, the United States of America has perpetrated bleak immigration laws. On one hand, immigration to the United States was not restricted or regulated for over a hundred years after the founding of the nation. On the other hand, when restrictions on immigration were eventually introduced, they were explicitly biased against particular nationalities. Well into the 21st century, as the debate over unauthorized immigration continues to intensify, it is worth noting that rules governing immigration change constantly4and often arbitrarily. It is important to consider the recurrent pattern of immigration laws imposed as a means of blocking certain minority groups from entering the United States. This thesis seeks to answer the following questions 1) Why has mass deportation emerged into being the current form that we know today? 2) How does studying mass incarceration deepen our understanding of the institutions that support deportation? 3) To what extent do current deportation policies reflect, not just the outgrowth of increasingly punitive immigration laws, but also the historical pattern of racism and xenophobia in United States immigration policy? To answer the research questions posed I look at the history of mass incarceration and mass deportation and the laws primarily passed in the 20th century that allowed them to take root. I analyze court cases in the 20th century that challenge these proceedings. Finally in my second to last chapter I compare mass incarceration to mass deportation on the basis of the conditions they emerge in, their function in neoliberal capitalist driven society, and the people they render vulnerable. I found that four factors have combined to create the conditions for mass deportation from the United States: (1) nearly all deportees are men from Latin America and the Caribbean; (2) the rise of a fear-based politics in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks; (3) the global financial crisis; and (4) the vulnerability and functionality of deportees.