Border Enforcement and Immigrant Incorporation

1. Border Enforcement and Immigrant Incorporation (Immigrant incorporation is a theme we will return to) Political Science 126C / Chicano/Latino Studies 163 Lecture 7 January 29, 2009

2. Themes for Today • Border enforcement • Theories of Immigrant Incorporation • Political dimensions of immigrant incorporation – Naturalization

3. U.S.-Mexico Border, 1924

4. U.S.-Mexico Border, 2008

5. Most Popular Enforcement Strategy – Control at the Border • In the popular mind, that’s where the problem lies • Neglects the fact that 45 percent of unauthorized migrants are visa over-stayers • Assumed to be a quick, if expensive, fix • Current wave of border enforcement began in the early 1990s • Barriers • Technology • Staffing

6. Sustained Increase in Border Enforcement Spending Source: Wayne Cornelius. How Border Enforcement Has Reshaped Mexican Migration to the United States

7. And in Border Patrol Staffing Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse

8. Secure Border Initiative & Secure Fence Act (2006) • Up to 700 miles of fence (border 1,900+ miles) • 1,800 hi-tech towers equipped with radar and video cameras • Ground sensors and vehicle barriers • Aerial drones • Cost: • Fence: $2.2 to $14 billion • Secure border: $2 billion

9. 2009 Border Enforcement Budget • 19% increase in border security and immigration enforcement • $12.1 billion • Border fencing • Hire more border patrol • Expand number of teams to raid businesses • Goals (by end of 2009) • 20,000 border patrol FTE (authorized) • 601 of 670 miles of fence completed • 1,000 more detention beds

10. Will it Work? • Or, at least, will it work for unauthorized border crossers? • Dilemma 1 – Border patrol can’t hire fast enough, so won’t reach authorized levels • Dilemma 2 – Border controls since 1993 have not reduced unauthorized migration • Increased the cost of migration (increasing the use of coyotes) • Shifted points of entry (and the risks of nature) • Lack of response to new enforcement is not simply the result of faulty information on immigrants’ parts

11. Staffing Doesn’t Guarantee Apprehensions Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse

12. Themes for Today • Border enforcement • Theories of Immigrant Incorporation • Political dimensions of immigrant incorporation – Naturalization

13. Models of Immigrant Incorporation • Assimilation • “New assimilation” with particular attention to status at entry • Segmented assimilation • Assimilation (definition) – the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another • Developed in Sociology, but has been adapted to political incorporation also

14. Standard Measures • Language • Education and labor force outcomes • Identity • Marriage patterns • All good indicators and offer important insights (highlighting that no model offers complete explanation of immigrant incorporation) • Focused on social indicators of particular interest to Sociologists • I want to focus on a formal political indicator – naturalization • Limit – only immigrants naturalize • So, doesn’t offer a multi-generational measure

15. Themes for Today • Border enforcement • Theories of Immigrant Incorporation • Political dimensions of immigrant incorporation – Naturalization

16. Naturalization Requirements (with some exceptions) • Reside legally in the United States for five years • Demonstrate speaking, writing, and reading abilities in English and knowledge of basic U.S. history and civics • Be of “good moral character” • Take an oath to defend the Constitution • Requires applicants to abjure loyalty to former sovereign • Pay fee of $595, plus $80 fee for fingerprinting • Informal – complete a 10 page application form

17. Naturalization by Decade

18. Naturalizations 1981-2006

19. Why The Fluctuations? • Naturalization-eligible respond to incentives and resources • Incentives • Changes in the law that shape immigrant rights and opportunities • Changes in the attitude toward immigrants • Resources • Government promotion of naturalization (mid 1990s) • Community-based organizational efforts to promote naturalization

20. Naturalization in the Coming Years • Currently, • 8.5 million citizenship-eligible immigrants • Pool increases each year with newly eligible; increase at roughly the rate of new applications • Pool can diminish • Will require a national investment from immigrant advocacy community • Post-2006 support for naturalization must become continuous in immigrant communities • Congress could simply naturalization (unlikely in period of anti-immigrant fervor)

21. Other State Immigrant Incorporation Policies/Practices • States • Public (K-12) education • Language • Civics • Adult education • Professional licensing • General findings • Immigrants (and particularly their children) adopting U.S. cultural practices and values • Except for language, the adoption is not linear • Variation by nationality, status at entry, immigrant education, and experiences of co-ethnics in the United States