Narratives of Power and the Power of Narratives: Transformation along the U.S.-Mexico Border by Caroline L. Cormier A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Geography Department of Geography and Planning University of Toronto © Copyright by Caroline L. Cormier 2010 Abstract Narratives of Power and the Power of Narratives: Transformation along the U.S.-Mexico Border Master of Arts in Geography Error! Reference source not found. Department of Geography and Planning University of Toronto 2010 Using the Three Border Model developed by Mike Davis and Alessandra Moctezuma, this thesis presents a number of case studies focused on the narratives of power and transformation that continue to develop on the American side of the U.S.-Mexico border in the post-9/11 context. The first case study overviews the history of the U.S.-Mexico border in relation to the ongoing fortification of the physical boundary and its legal reification in federal policy. The second case study examines the exclusionary policies enacted by the state of Arizona as well as the anti-immigration agenda instituted by the Minuteman Project. The third case study examines the ways in which urban communities in the borderlands contest the material manifestations of the border present in their everyday lives. By surveying case studies at different sites and scales along the U.S.-Mexico boundary, this thesis challenges traditional conceptions of state power at the border. ii Acknowledgements I owe a tremendous thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their knowledge, ideas and support over the past year and at various stages during the writing process. This thesis would not have been possible without such collaboration. First, and foremost, I wish to extend my warmest thanks to my supervisor, Professor Emily Gilbert. Throughout this journey, Emily has shared her invaluable insight and has continually challenged me to push my personal boundaries as a scholar. I am thankful for her patience, kindness, and overall enthusiasm for this thesis project and I am looking forward to embarking on my next academic journey under her supervision. I would also like to thank my committee members, Professor Matthew Farish and Professor Deborah Cowen, who have provided their intellectual support and feedback throughout the year and in the successful completion of the final version of this thesis project. I also wish to extend my thanks to the Department of Geography and Program and Planning at the University of Toronto for affording me the opportunity to be part of such an inspiring cohort of students this year and providing the administrative and academic guidance necessary to complete this project. My friends and colleagues have also provided tremendous writing and moral support throughout the duration of this project. For this reason, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to those who have volunteered their time and energy to help me complete a project of such magnitude. I would like to thank Jonathan Vandersluis and Elham Bidgoli for their unwavering support throughout the research and writing process, as well as their incredible generosity in taking the time to edit my work. Of particular mention is my dear friend and colleague, Mike Lawrence, who has provided an enormous amount of assistance with the writing process, including being an incredible sounding board for the development and articulation of the ideas contained within this thesis. Last, but not least, I am incredibly grateful to my wonderful and supportive mother, Kathaleen McKay, for providing me with such a solid foundation from which to build. iii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.....................................................................................................................................III CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 1 OUTLINE OF THESIS .................................................................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 7 REALIST APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING THE BORDER .................................................................................... 8 POSTSTRUCTURALIST APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING THE BORDER .............................................................16 INTRODUCING THE THREE BORDER MODEL .......................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER 3: LEGISLATING EXCLUSION AT THE FIRST BORDER ....................................................39 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................39 CREATING THE ‘FIRST BORDER’ BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO..................................................42 HARDENING THE DIVIDE THROUGH POST-9/11 IMMIGRATION POLICIES.............................................................47 The USA PATRIOT Act: Increasing Immigrant Vulnerability after 9/11......................................................50 The Implementation of the Homeland Security Act in 2002........................................................................... 53 CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................................................55 CHAPTER 4: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SECOND BORDER IN ARIZONA................................59 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................59 THE POLITICS OF EXCEPTION & THE RE-SCALING OF IMMIGRATION POLICY .....................................................61 ARIZONA’S ANTI-IMMIGRANT PROPOSITIONS....................................................................................................... 65 SENATE BILL 1070: FORMALIZING LOCAL ENFORCEMENT..................................................................................68 THE ONGOING ROLE OF THE MINUTEMAN PROJECT.............................................................................................72 CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................................................80 CHAPTER 5: TRANSFORMATION AT THE THIRD BORDER IN SAN DIEGO ................................... 83 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................83 FRIENDSHIP ON THE LINE ....................................................................................................................................... 86 BRIDGING BORDERS THROUGH CHICANO PARK ................................................................................................... 93 ESTUDIO TEDDY CRUZ: BUILDING STRONGER BORDER COMMUNITIES..............................................................98 RE-IMAGINING FRIENDSHIP AT THE BORDER ......................................................................................................104 CHAPTER 6: REVIEWING THE THREE BORDER MODEL....................................................................107 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................................107 EXPANDING THE THREE BORDER MODEL ...........................................................................................................109 ADVANTAGES OF USING THE THREE BORDER MODEL .......................................................................................111 CONCERNS WITH THE THREE BORDER MODEL ...................................................................................................114 DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ...................................................................................................................121 CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................................................123 WORKS CITED......................................................................................................................................................125 iv Chapter 1: Introduction From the ancient Great Wall of China to Israel’s West Bank barrier today, walls, fences, and other barriers have been dividing populations for thousands of years (Ivekovic 2005:16). While some scholars have argued that state borders are becoming less relevant (Ohmae 1995; Kaplan 1994), many geographers contend that the continued presence of fences and walls along state borders indicates that these demarcations remain one of the most basic and visible features of the international system today (Diener & Hagen 2009; Flint & Taylor 2007; Andreas 2003; Newman 2006). For example, fences and walls currently separate, or are being constructed to separate the United States from Mexico, Israel from Palestine, South Africa from Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia from Yemen,