The Securitization of Migration: The Case of Haitian Immigrants Since The 1970s

Abstract

US immigration policies have negatively impacted Haitian migrants for decades, including, most recently, through policies like Title 42 and the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)--also called the Remain in Mexico Program. My paper argues that laws like these and how they are enforced are problematic and unjust because they negatively impact immigrants of color, especially Black immigrants. They exemplify the extent to which racism continues to affect immigration policy. The paper also shows how Haitian refugees as a group are systematically discriminated against based on their intersecting identities of being both migrants and Black. The paper makes a contribution to the securitization theory of migration, which argues that governments increasingly frame migration as a security threat, in part to scapegoat migrants and to distract from other issues. Relying on in-depth interviews with five Haitian migrants, the paper also shows how immigrants are forced to embark on a dangerous journey through the Mexican border because existing policies have made it impossible for them to come via other ways.