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Voluntary Return” in a Sanctuary City

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Voluntary Return” in a Sanctuary City “It actually made me feel like I didn’t even want to stay here”: EXPERIENCES OF “VOLUNTARY RETURN” IN A SANCTUARY CITY TANYA AVIVA ABERMAN A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN GENDER, FEMINIST & WOMEN’S STUDIES YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO June 2018 ⓒTanya Aviva Aberman 2018 Abstract During the near decade of Conservative rule in Canada, from 2006 – 2015, rancorous anti-refugee and anti-migrant discourse and policy were circulated, which manifested in a large-scale overhaul of the immigration system. Social, economic, and physical exclusions increased as a reassertion of state sovereignty through the reconstitution and solidification of borders, as well as the increased precariousness of migrant bodies. The primary goals of my dissertation research have been to learn why some migrants chose to leave Canada ‘voluntarily’ and to understand the factors that have forced them to do so. Among the key questions this dissertation attempts to answer are the following: 1) What factors push migrants to make decisions on the spectrum of forced voluntary return? 2) How does gender, as it intersects with other identities and social relations, influence migrants’ experiences of forced voluntary return? 3) What does the addition of forced voluntary return, a non-binary concept, offer to current research on voluntary and involuntary migration? This research proposes that particular spaces and relationships became laden with feelings of exclusion and criminalization, which for the migrants centred in this dissertation, resulted in a loss of hope for a future in Canada. Participants identified loss of hope as one of the primary factors that pushed them to leave ‘voluntarily’, so as to relieve the pain associated with staying. The exclusions were importantly impacted by gender, class, racialization, age and ability, which came together in ways that pushed some into a forced ‘voluntary’ return. I offer the spectrum of forced voluntary return to capture some of the tensions and messiness within migrant experiences of return that are neither completely voluntary nor forced. ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the migrants who offered their time and knowledge to this research, and to all the others contemplating or engaging in forced voluntary return. iii Acknowledgments This PhD project has been filled with ups and downs, but could never have been accomplished without the support, encouragement and care of many people. First, I would like to thank the seventeen participants who generously shared their time, experiences and knowledge with me. Their perspectives have educated and inspired me, as they have and continue to resist systemic exclusions in their own ways. I am forever thankful to my dissertation supervisor Wenona Giles, who not only pushed and encouraged me, but also gave me permission to not be perfect. Reading an average of three drafts per chapter, Wenona’s patience and well thought-out critiques and edits made this dissertation much stronger and more coherent. I am grateful for having had the opportunity to work with Wenona since the beginning of my PhD. I would also like to thank Luin Goldring and Tania Das Gupta, my two other committee members, who have worked with me for several years. You have both understood my community work, offered support, valuable insights and wisdom, while at the same time pushing my academic work. I will be forever grateful for your commitment to this project. I will never be able to thank my parents enough, as they have offered me endless love and support, any time and anywhere. I would not have made it this far without their care and good humour. I would especially like to thank my mother, who has always been my first editor and my most supportive critic. Thank you for reading multiple drafts of this dissertation and offering astute and valuable comments each time. Thank you for helping me to see the “building blocks”. I would also like to thank my sister, Jenni, my aunt Marilyn and my grandmother, for their continued interest and support in my long academic adventure. This topic may not have caught my attention without the insight of Francisco Rico- Martinez. I would like to thank Francisco and Loly for teaching me so very much about the immigration system and about frontline work. I appreciate their encouragement and support throughout this process. Extensionally, the FCJ team became like a family. Thank you for your interest in my project and your belief in me. I would also like to thank the members of the FCJ Youth Network, who have taught me more about resilience and hope than I would have ever thought possible. Their creativity, humour and endurance are forever inspiring. Working with the youth has not only allowed me to build life-changing relationships, but has taught me so much about myself, as they have given me so much space to learn and grow. I will forever be grateful for the friends who have offered so much support and care throughout this process. I cannot name everyone here, but would like to particularly acknowledge Allison Eades and Philip Ackerman (my committee of NO), Shihoko Nakagawa (my first PhD “buddy” and provider of all the valuable information), Sarah Rennie, Sayard Chartrand, Emma Field, Ali Hopkins, Molly Butterworth, Lindsay Gonder, Julia Mais, Alykhan Ismail, Kathryn Travis, Hans Rollman, Varka Kalaydzhieva, Jessica Chandrashekar, Emily Rosser, Fabienne Doiron, Swathi Sekhar, Amy Soberano, Gretchen Overholtzer, Trish Goolabsingh, Brandon Eyer, Paloma Villegas, Francisco Villegas and Salina Abji. iv Finally, I am very grateful to Le Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture (FRQSC) for the financial support provided for this research over two and a half years. This dissertation would not have been possible without this support. v Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………… ii Dedication……………………………………………………………………………… iii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………….. iv List of Tables ...................…………………………………………………………..… viii List of Pictures……………………..................……………………………………...… ix List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………..………..… x Introduction…………………………………………………………………………....... 1 The Language of Labels………………………………………………….…....... 3 Gender………………………………………………………………....... 3 Migration……………………………………………………………....... 5 Criminalization Through Exclusion…………………………………...... 7 Theoretical Framework………………………………………………..……....... 9 Methodology……………………………………………….………………....... 10 The Location: The Sanctuary City of Toronto……………………………......... 11 Chapter Outline……………………………………………................................ 12 Chapter 1: Methods: Opportunities, Limitations and Personal Experiences........……… 15 My Positionality……………………………………………................................ 16 Qualitative Research…………………………………………………………..... 23 The Case Study…………………………..…………………………………....... 25 Sampling……………………………………………………………………....... 26 Data Collection……………………………...…………………………...…....... 29 Demographic Information about Migrant Participants………………………..... 30 Demographic Information of Service Provider Participants……………………. 33 Protection and Ethics…………………………………….…………………....... 34 Coding the Data……………………………………………………….……....... 35 Analysis………………………………………………….…………………....... 36 Complementary Data Collection……………………………………………….. 38 Methods for Writing…………………………………………..……………....... 39 Summary…………………………………………………….………………...... 41 Chapter 2: Literature Review: State Sovereignty, Illegalization and the Canadian Context………………………………………………....... 42 State Sovereignty……………………………………………………………...... 44 Securitization and Borders…………………………………………….... 48 Borders around ‘Refugeeness’………………………………………….. 55 Migrant Illegalization………………………………………………………........ 62 Deportability……………………………...…………………………...... 68 Self-Deportation....................................................................................... 70 Deportation……………………………............……………………....... 74 Detention…………………………………………………………….......78 Voluntary Departure…………...……………………………………...... 80 Canadian Boundary Making……………………..…………………………....... 82 Security of the Canadian State………………………………………….. 89 Summary……………………………………………………………………....... 95 vi Chapter 3: Canadian Immigration Policy: Boxes and Boundaries, Spaces and Relationships………………………………………………....... 97 Excluding Migrants through Bordering Practices……………………………… 99 Civilian Soldiers at the Intersections between Borders and ‘Others’…. 106 Refugee Policy Reform and the (Re)production of the ‘Other’……………….. 112 Further ‘Othering’ Through Family Class………………………….…. 123 Summary……………………………………………......................................... 129 Chapter 4: The Wide Reach of Migrant Criminalization and Loss of Hope………….. 131 Exclusionary Relationships……………………….………………….……....... 132 Deep Distrust in Migrants in Toronto……………………….……….... 132 The Broad Reach of Overt and Subtle Racism…………….………….. 136 Community in Toronto: Helpful or Hindrance…………….………….. 141 Spaces Of Exclusion……………………………………………….………….. 146 School: Education Denied………………………………….………….. 146 Health Care: Survival of the Fittest…………….………………….….. 148 Economic Exclusion: Work Places and Shelter…………..……..…….. 152 Immigration Detention Centres – The Apex of Migrant Criminalization..…………….………….…………….……………….. 158 Summary..…………….………….…………….………………………..…….. 164 Chapter 5: Forced Voluntary Return: Nuancing the Tension Between Voluntary and Involuntary, Individual Agency and Loss of Hope..…………….…………………….. 166 Self-Deportation
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