Date of Award

Spring 5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

First Advisor

Dr. Victoria Carty

Second Advisor

Dr. Crystal Murphy

Third Advisor

Dr. Nancy Rios-Contreras

Abstract

This research aims to examine the effects of migration securitization on marginalized citizens in the United States of America by examining it through a conservative nationalist lens. While the securitization of migration is “the process through which the phenomenon of migration is framed as a threat to the survival of a certain referent object” (von Rosen, 2019, p. 36), the byproduct of that framing extends beyond the initially constructed threat (von Rosen, 2019). The framing of immigration and migrants as a threat to the United States is not a new occurrence and has served to bolster conservative politicians and construct anti-immigration laws and practices intended to target undocumented immigrants (Hajnal, 2021). The framing of non-white migrants as threats to the state structurally impacts the lives and experiences of minorities perceived as immigrants (Almeida et al., 2016) while magnifying the perceptions of the dominant group of their national identity (von Rosen, 2019) and affecting those perceived as others or as potential threats to the dominant group. By looking at intersections of race and national identity, this study shows how securitization of migration incites a national conservative reaction to protect and preserve their identities and power, expressed through social attitudes and legislative practices directed at undocumented immigrants that inevitably affect citizens.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.