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Threatening Immigrants: Cultural Depictions of Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in Contemporary Us America

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Threatening Immigrants: Cultural Depictions of Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in Contemporary Us America THREATENING IMMIGRANTS: CULTURAL DEPICTIONS OF UNDOCUMENTED MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS IN CONTEMPORARY US AMERICA Katharine Lee Schaab A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2015 Committee: Jolie Sheffer, Advisor Lisa Hanasono Graduate Faculty Representative Rebecca Kinney Susana Peña © 2015 Katharine Schaab All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jolie Sheffer, Advisor This project analyzes how contemporary US cultural and legislative texts shape US society’s impression of undocumented (im)migrants and whether they fit socially constructed definitions of what it means to “be American” or part of the US national imaginary. I argue that (im)migrant-themed cultural texts, alongside legal policies, participate in racial formation projects that use racial logic to implicitly mark (im)migrants as outsiders while actively employing ideologies rooted in gender, economics, and nationality to rationalize (im)migrants’ exclusion or inclusion from the US nation-state. I examine the tactics anti- and pro-(im)migrant camps utilize in suppressing the role of race—particularly the rhetorical strategies that focus on class, nation, and gender as rationale for (im)migrants’ inclusion or exclusion—in order to expose the similar strategies governing contemporary US (im)migration thought and practice. This framework challenges dichotomous thinking and instead focuses on gray areas. Through close readings of political and cultural texts focused on undocumented (im)migration (including documentaries, narrative fiction, and photography), this project homes in on the gray areas between seemingly pro- and anti-(im)migrant discourses. I contend (im)migration-themed political and popular rhetoric frequently selects a specific identity marker (e.g. gender or socio- economic status—never race) and depicts it as the single factor influencing US border monitoring and defense. In order to demonstrate this argument, I place legal texts in conversation with cultural texts. Taken together, political and cultural texts show the emergent strategies for discussing undocumented (im)migration without directly discussing race or racial inequalities, as the texts deny or have purportedly resolved racial inequalities. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation could not exist without the guidance and support of my exceptional committee: Dr. Jolie Sheffer, Dr. Susana Peña, Dr. Rebecca Kinney, and Dr. Lisa Hanasono. I thank you for trudging through a myriad of drafts and offering patience, enthusiasm, input, and guidance during each stage of this project. Thanks to Lisa for agreeing to serve as my graduate faculty representative. Rebecca articulated my contributions before I could and encouraged me to restructure this project; I resisted for far too long before finally embracing the clearer organization she saw all along. I owe a million thanks to Susana who served as my unofficial chair in the final months of this project, reading and commenting faster and more extensively than I could or would have ever asked. This project is all the better because of her advice and guidance during the final stages. Thank you to Jolie Sheffer, my supportive and necessarily critical adviser, for being the mentor I needed, especially during the first year when I could not see the bigger picture or finer arguments. Jolie’s advice and critique are so deeply embedded in this work that it is impossible to conceive of it unfolding in any other fashion. I also wish to say thank you to the creators of the Border Film Project for granting me permission to use the photographs featured in chapter three. While my analysis of their work is at times critical, I appreciate their commitment to actively participating in political and cultural conversations surrounding undocumented immigration. There were many, many moments from proposal to defense when I felt consumed by this project. Helping to pull me out of my writing bubble, Johni Amos, Mallory Jagodzinksi, and Lisa Kaplan all served as sounding boards and offered fun times and good memories. A number of other friends—in BG and beyond—cheered me on along the way; the notes of encouragement and continued support mean so much. Thank you to my family for their unending love and belief in me as I work(ed) toward my goals, especially my parents and sister. Finally, the biggest thank v you to my loving spouse, Shane Winterhalter, who lived in the shadow of this project for far too long. I am ready for our next adventure—away from a computer screen! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………..... 1 Key US (Im)migration Policies………………………………………………… ..... 6 Cultural Texts as Sites of Inquiry………………………………………………….. 15 Guiding Theories…………………………………………………………………… 18 Chapter Outlines……………………………………………………………………. 23 CHAPTER 1: THE USE OF SEX AND GENDER IN POST-IRCA BORDER NARRATIVES……………………… .................................................................................. 29 IRCA: Subtle Androcentrism and Anti-Racist Claims .............................................. 30 Sexism to Veil Racism, Post-IRCA ........................................................................... 34 Racial Scripts Targeting Women….. ......................................................................... 36 Border: Casting Female (Im)migrants as Victims and Perpetrators .......................... 40 Protectionist Narratives .................................................................................. 45 No Longer Victims, Blaming Female (Im)migrants ...................................... 49 Mojados: Privileging Androcentric (Im)migration and Traditional Gender Roles. .. 55 Gender, Not Race and Nation ........................................................................ 58 Men as Providers............................................................................................ 60 Women as Indirect Threats. ........................................................................... 62 Conclusion ……… .................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER 2: NARRATIVES OF RACE AND CLASS SURROUNDING CA PROPOSITION 187 ……………………………………………………………….............. 68 The Impetus Behind “Economics Not Race”………………………………..……… 70 vii Falling Down: Blaming “Foreigners” for the Decline of the US Middle-Class ........ 77 Foreigners “Stealing” from the US ................................................................ 83 Reclaiming “Rightful” Space and Place…….. .............................................. 87 “I’m Not a Vigilante”: Justifying “Race-Neutral” Resistance ....................... 90 The Tortilla Curtain: Undocumented (Im)migrants Threaten Affluent US America.. 93 Help (Not) Wanted: Economics and Anti-(Im)migrant Rhetoric… .............. 98 The Role of Race in Pro-(Im)migrant “Save Our State” Discourse .............. 102 “Economics Not Race” from the Standpoint of (Im)migrants… ................... 107 Conclusion……………….………………………………….……………..……… . 110 CHAPTER 3: RACIALIZED EXCLUSIONARY NATIONALISM AND THE SECURE FENCE ACT OF 2006…. ...................................................................................................... 113 The Secure Fence Act, Race, and Nation. ................................................................. 114 From Law to Cultural Texts. ...................................................................................... 117 Border Film Project: Nationalism through Legitimacy, Authority, and Dominance.. 119 BFP Site: Exclusionary Nationalism and Claims of Neutrality ..................... 121 Minutemen Photography, Nationalist Imagery .............................................. 126 Establishing Legitimacy through Patriotism ...................................... 127 Authoritative Nationalism .................................................................. 129 Dominance and Racialized Exclusionary Nationalism ...................... 133 Migrants’ Photos: Rearticulating US Nationalism and Racial Scripts….….. 135 Reinscribing US Nationalism ............................................................ 139 The Rearticulation of Exclusionary US Nationalism ........................ 143 Racial Counterscripts ......................................................................... 147 viii Conclusion…….………………………………….……………..……… ................. 150 CHAPTER 4: UNDOCUMENTED (IM)MIGRATION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL ............ 152 Arizona SB 1070……………………………………………………………….. ...... 153 Border War: Local Battles over Undocumented (Im)migration ................................ 158 When the Federal Government Fails, Locals Must Act. ................................ 163 Who and What Constitutes “Local”……………………………………….. 166 Local as Multicultural……………………………………………………… 171 Rejecting Outcast US Americans’ Localism ………………………….. ...... 175 The Other Side of Immigration: Mexican Communities and Undocumented (Im)migration ............................................................................................................ 177 (Trans)national Issue with Local Consequences............................................ 180 Protecting and Supporting the Local Character ............................................. 184 Minimizing Race, Again ................................................................................ 188 Conclusion…….………………………………….……………..……… ................. 190 CONCLUSION………… .....................................................................................................
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