HAITIANS at the US-MEXICO BORDER by BRENDA GARCIA

COMTEMPORARY DISPLACEMENT PATTERNS AND RESPONSES: HAITIANS AT THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER by BRENDA GARCIA MILLAN A THESIS Presented to the Department of International Studies and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts June 2018 THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Student: Brenda Garcia Millan Title: Contemporary Displacement Patterns and Responses: Haitians at the U.S.-Mexico Border This thesis has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Department of International Studies by: Kristin E. Yarris Chairperson Angela Joya Member Edward M. Olivos Member and Sara D. Hodges Interim Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2018 ii © 2018 Brenda Garcia Millan iii THESIS ABSTRACT Brenda Garcia Millan Master of Arts Department of International Studies June 2018 Title: Contemporary Displacement Patterns and Responses: Haitians at the U.S.-Mexico Border Contemporary population displacement trends are impacting cities located in developing countries in unprecedented ways. This scenario is reflected in the Mexican border town of Tijuana, which from May 2016 to January of 2017, experienced the massive arrival of Haitians seeking asylum in the United States. My thesis addresses the Haitians’ patterns of displacement and the actors involved in the migratory processes including governmental and non-governmental authorities in Mexico and the United States. Because of the complexity of displacement today, I argue that in order to comprehend patterns and responses to displacement, it is necessary to use a multi-scalar global perspective that addresses the relationship between time and space as well as the relationship between politics and power. Furthermore, I argue that the Haitian arrival to the U.S.-Mexico border is an illustration of crisis migration, which views displacement as the result of a combination of social, political, economic, and environmental crises. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Brenda Garcia Millan GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene, OR San Diego State University, San Diego, CA University of Oxford, Oxford, UK DEGREES AWARDED: Master of Arts, International Studies, 2018, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, International Security and Conflict Resolution, 2014, San Diego State University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: International Migration and Refugee Issues International Human Rights Law and Foreign Policy Humanitarian Aid and Diplomacy Foreign languages and Translation Latin America and Europe PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2015- 2018 Spanish Translator and Interpreter, Eugene 4J School District, 2017- 2018 Bilingual Research Assistant, University of Oregon, 2016 Coordinator of K-12 Volunteers, AmeriCorps VISTA, 2014-2015 Immigration Department Intern, International Rescue Committee, 2013-2014 v GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award, Spain, 2018 MHIRT Latino Mental Health Research Training Program, University of Southern California, 2018 CLLAS Faculty-Collaborative Grant, University of Oregon 2017 Tinker Field Research Grant, University of Oregon, 2017 Center for the Study of Women in Society Grant, University of Oregon, 2017 Thurber Award, University of Oregon, 2016 Graduate Promising Scholar Award, University of Oregon, 2015 PUBLICATIONS: Garcia, Brenda. (2011). “Reclaiming Tijuana: put an end to drug-related violence”. UNICEF The State of the World’s Children: Adolescence an Age of Opportunity. Print. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to express sincere gratitude to Dr. Kristin E. Yarris for her academic guidance, encouragement, and emotional support during the preparation of this research. In addition, I want to thank Dr. Angela Joya for her advice and availability during the early stages of this project. Also, special thanks are due to Dr. Edward M. Olivos, whose familiarity with the U.S. – Mexico border region was crucial for my research process. In addition, I want to thank Casa del Migrante’s personnel including its director Father Patrick Murphy and attorney Melisa Viruete for their flexibility and their trust. I also want to recognize the role of SDSU professor Victor Clark-Alfaro for his input on this thesis, and I want to express my appreciation to the director of Grupo Beta Tijuana for welcoming me in the Mexican Institute of Migration’s headquarters. Furthermore, I want to thank my parents, María and Gustavo García as well as my brother Miguel Angel whom despite the distance, are always by my side. Finally, I want to thank my friends including my cohort members and all the special people I have met in Oregon, for their advice and unconditional support without which I could not have completed my masters’ program. This project was supported in part by the Tinker Foundation, the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) and the Center for the Study of Women in Society at the University of Oregon. vii To the memory of my grandmother Elisa Millán Para la memoria de mi nana Elisa Millán viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Research Process and Objectives .......................................................................... 6 Research Methods and Participants ...................................................................... 8 Limitations of Study ............................................................................................. 10 Scope and Organization of Thesis ........................................................................ 12 II. THEORIES AND DISCOURSES OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES ............... 14 Theories of International Migration ....................................................................... 14 The Neoclassical Economical Theory ............................................................ 15 The World Systems Theory ............................................................................. 16 The Dual Labor Market Theory ...................................................................... 17 The Institutional Theory ................................................................................. 18 Crisis Migration: A Modern View on Displacement ............................................ 19 The Multi-Scalar Global Approach ...................................................................... 21 Categorizing Refugees and Migrants .................................................................... 24 Responsibility Sharing and Failing “Solutions” ................................................... 30 III. MULTI-SCALAR ANALYSIS OF HAITIAN DISPLACEMENT ..................... 35 The Haitian Diaspora ............................................................................................ 36 Haiti in the Western Hemisphere .......................................................................... 39 The United Nations and the Brazil-Haiti Relationship ......................................... 42 U.S.-Haiti Relationship ......................................................................................... 45 Summary of the U.S-Haiti Relationship ......................................................... 52 ix Chapter Page IV. TIJUANA: A SACNTUARY FOR DISPLAED POPULATIONS ..................... 53 Increasing Irregular Migration and Border Control ............................................... 55 Post 9/11 US Immigration Polices and the Trump Era .......................................... 57 Discussion: U.S. Immigration Policies and Responsibility Sharing ............... 59 V. MEXICO AND U.S. RESPONSES TO HAITIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS ............ 61 Tijuana’s Local Response: The Role of Casa del Migrante ................................. 62 International State Responses: Mexico and the United States ............................... 71 Mexico’s Governmental Response: Refugees and Asylum Policies .............. 72 Mexico’s State Humanitarianism: The Role of Grupo Beta ........................... 73 Tijuana’s NGOs and Locals’ Humanitarian Actions ...................................... 76 U.S. Response: Control and Rejection ............................................................ 78 Discussion on Opposing Responses to Asylum Seekers ...................................... 84 VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS AND STUDY IMPLICATIONS ........................... 85 Implications for Research ..................................................................................... 87 Implications for Policy .......................................................................................... 89 Potential Solutions: Changing the Discourse on Displacement ............................. 91 Afterword .............................................................................................................. 94 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 95 A. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS TO CASA DEL MIGRANTE DIRECTOR ...... 95 B. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS TO VICTOR CLARK ALFARO ........................ 96 C. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS TO GRUPO BETA DIRECTOR ....................... 97 REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................ 98 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Border Cities Map ................................................................................................

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