Trumpfronterizo the Influence of Trumpism on Socio-Economic Cross-Border Flows in the San Diego – Tijuana Bi-National Metropolitan Area

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Trumpfronterizo the Influence of Trumpism on Socio-Economic Cross-Border Flows in the San Diego – Tijuana Bi-National Metropolitan Area Trumpfronterizo The influence of Trumpism on socio-economic cross-border flows in the San Diego – Tijuana bi-national metropolitan area Nadim van Minnen Radboud University Nijmegen | s4801431 1 Trumpfronterizo The influence of Trumpism on socio-economic cross-border flows in the San Diego – Tijuana bi-national metropolitan area Front page background sources: Autodesk, 2018. Own figure, 2017. Wikimedia Commons, 2017. Master thesis Nadim van Minnen Radboud University Nijmegen | Nijmegen School of Management Department of Geography, Planning and Environment MSc. Programme Human Geography: Globalisation, Migration and Development Thesis supervisor: Dr. Lothar Smith Nadim van Minnen [s4801431] [email protected] 10 July 2018 Radboud University Nijmegen 2 PREFACE This thesis was written as an integral part of the Master program of Human Geography and the track Globalisation, Migration and Development at Radboud University Nijmegen. This master thesis is the final assignment that needed to be completed in order finish this study, and therefore to receive my degree as a Master of Science. As can be seen in the methodology chapter and the conclusion, as well as annex 4, there were some small problems while doing this research, mostly due to the bi-national nature of this research. However, everything turned out alright in the end as I gathered plenty of information in order to make valid and informed statements regarding the issues at play in this thesis. A major thank you therefore goes out to my informants and expert interviewees for sacrificing their valuable time, their expertise and their willingness to participate. Without them and the useful information they provided me, I would not have gotten what I wanted out of this research. I would also like to thank Border Angels, and in particular Enrique Morones and Dulce Aguirre, who took me in as an intern during my field research in the Tijuana – San Diego bi-national metropolitan area. This internship provided me with a lot of background information and helped me to find good contacts and my first interviewees. Last but not least, I want to thank my supervisor Lothar Smith for his advice and feedback during the process of writing this thesis. I also want to thank him and Martin van der Velde for being the first and second reviewer for the assessment of my thesis. I hope that this research will be of benefit to you, the reader. I hope that you enjoy reading this thesis and that it will provide you with useful information on Trumpism, cross-border flows and the San Diego – Tijuana bi-national metropolitan area. Nadim van Minnen Nijmegen, 10 July 2018 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 List of figures ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 6 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 The matter at hand .................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Problem statement .................................................................................................................. 9 1.3 Aims and purposes ................................................................................................................ 10 1.4 Reading guide ........................................................................................................................ 11 2 Exploring literature & building a conceptual framework .............................................................. 13 2.1 Image and identity ................................................................................................................. 13 2.2 Urban areas ........................................................................................................................... 15 2.3 Borders .................................................................................................................................. 17 2.4 Trumpism ............................................................................................................................... 19 2.5 Conceptual scheme ............................................................................................................... 20 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 21 3.1 Theory-based research methods ........................................................................................... 21 3.2 In retrospect: Methods used ................................................................................................. 23 4 The San Diego – Tijuana borderland: a political framework ......................................................... 27 4.1 The U.S. - Mexico borderland ................................................................................................ 27 4.2 Changing U.S. migration policies ........................................................................................... 28 4.3 The current landscape under President Trump .................................................................... 33 5 Existing geographies and socio-economic relations...................................................................... 37 5.1 Border crossing infrastructure .............................................................................................. 37 5.2 Social flows and structures .................................................................................................... 39 5.3 Economical flows and structures........................................................................................... 41 5.4 Governmental integration ..................................................................................................... 44 5.5 San Diego – Tijuana: A true bi-national metropolitan area? ................................................. 46 5.6 Key impacts to the region ...................................................................................................... 47 5.7 Existing geographies and socio-economic relations: Concluding remarks ........................... 49 6 Discussion: Consequences for socio-spatial developments .......................................................... 50 6.1 General impacts..................................................................................................................... 50 6.2 History, trends and the Trump-effect ................................................................................... 53 6.3 Policy versus rhetoric ............................................................................................................ 56 6.4 Consequences for socio-spatial developments: Concluding remarks ................................... 57 4 7 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 59 7.1 Trumpism and cross-border flows in San Diego - Tijuana ..................................................... 59 7.2 External relevance and recommendations ........................................................................... 61 7.3 Reflection............................................................................................................................... 62 References ............................................................................................................................................. 63 Personal communication (Annex 3) .................................................................................................. 74 Annex 1: Informed consent form for human research subjects ........................................................... 76 Annex 2: Topic lists for the expert interviews ....................................................................................... 77 Annex 3: Expert interview summaries ................................................................................................ 102 Annex 4: Observations and field notes ............................................................................................... 117 4.1 Culture and diversity in greater San Diego .......................................................................... 117 4.2 The border ........................................................................................................................... 120 4.3 Field notes and quotes ........................................................................................................ 123 5 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Conceptual scheme. 20 Figure 4.1: U.S. bilateral treaties signed with Mexico and Canada by decade, 1930-2016. 27 Figure 4.2: Tactical border infrastructure appropriations and miles of border fencing, 29 1996-2013. Figure 4.3: A timeline of key U.S. migration policies. 30 Figure 5.1: San Diego Region Points of Entry, 2017. 38 Figure 5.2: Persons crossing in San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, 1997-2017. 39 Figure 5.3: Hispanics as a percentage (%) of the population by neighborhood in 40 San Diego County, 2015. Figure 5.4: Truck containers crossing in Otay Mesa,
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