Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Where The Border Ends: How Reactive Policies To Terrorism Became Conduits For Drone Technology And The Enclosure Of Wealthy Nations, Arron Mitchell

PPPA Paper Prize

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (1996) and the USA PATRIOT Act (2001) are two key examples of reactive policies enacted in response to terrorist attacks on American soil. Expedited passage of both pieces of legislation were reliant on the public’s support for government action in wake of recent atrocities. These acts gave particular attention to securing the nation’s borders, directing an increase in funding for Border Patrol in order to prevent future terrorist attacks. This essay will connect the increased funding for border security directed by Congress with the defense industry’s pursuit of funding and outlets for drone …

The Negative Impacts Of Border Patrol On The Mental Health Of Migrants, Breyana M. Newton

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The research in this paper is a deep dive into the actions of Border Patrol on migrants and refugees and their effects on the individual. This includes impacts on mental health, child development, resettlement prevention, and racism and discrimination within border patrol itself. To understand all of this and how wide reaching all of this goes there needs to be a reflection on the history and policies of Border Patrol and the Government behind it.
The problem with patrolling our borders is that there are consequences on the U.S. as a nation and unintended consequences on those individuals migrating into …

Women In Law Enforcement: The Impacts And Obstacles They Face In A Hispanic- And Male-Dominated Culture, Lisa M. Seiser

Theses and Dissertations

Despite a lack of female law enforcement representation in police departments across the country and especially in the Border Patrol, there have been minimal studies performed that focus on the obstacles women face in these professions. The purpose of this study was to attempt to understand the lived experiences of female law enforcement officers/border patrol agents in this male-dominated profession, but also adding the aspect of them working in a Hispanic-dominated culture.

The findings revealed these women in law enforcement working in a Hispanic area face many of the same obstacles as women in other parts of the country - …

Deconstructing Perceptions Of The Border Patrol At The U.S.-Mexico Border, Claire H. Woodward

Student Publications

The U.S.-Mexico border is a space for public debate on the legal and political aspects of immigration. Politicization of the southern border has resulted in polarized public opinion regarding immigration, leading to discrepancies between public perceptions of the Border Patrol and agents’ perceptions of their job. Agents’ work requires emotional labor, and lack of training for difficult encounters, pressure within the agency to detach from emotions, and public outcry lead to dissonance in agent perceptions of their own role in immigration enforcement. In addition, economic, ethnic, and gender-based factors contribute to agent identities, which intersect with perceptions of their roles …

Space, Power, Policy, And The Creation Of The “Illegal” Migrant At The United States Boundary With Mexico, Catalina J. Biesman-Simons

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the relationship between space (physical and figurative) and sovereign power, with respect to the history of the United States' immigration and boundary policy. It examines spatial organization as a social product, and simultaneously a producer of mainstream associations of illegal activity at the border with Mexico. It begins with a brief introduction to a spatially informed analytical framework, a history of relevant United States' immigration policy. The paper then uses newspaper coverage from the 1970s and 1980s to examine the local and national rise of xenophobia in the United States, and the normalization of boundary control and …

Southwest Border Patrol Agent Perceptions Of Job-Related Threats And Dangers, Heidi Hamburger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Southwest Border is associated with highly politicized topics, yet the lived experience of Border Patrol agents is not one of them. Border Patrol agents face risks to their personal safety and security as they attempt to safeguard the national security of the United States while implementing the policies of their organization, which are sometimes at odds with the beliefs and expectations of agents in the field. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore perceptions and lived experiences related to the threats and dangers that Border Patrol agents face as they protect the U.S. Southwest Border. The …

Bandidos Mexicano, Diego A. Rocha

SURGE

Twin day sounded like an innocent enough theme for Homecoming spirit week at a high school. It was just people wearing matching clothes, taking some pictures, and laughing a bit.

But that day, six girls walked to class in bright ponchos, giant sombreros, and stick-on mustaches, wielding fake green cards to boot. They were followed by a seventh with “Border Patrol” scrawled in black marker on a sign taped to her back. [excerpt]

No Justice Given, Alison P. Lauro

SURGE

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time analyzing privilege and looking at how systems in the United States often work to further oppress the vulnerable, while keeping the privileged in power. I have taken note of how my light skin, middle-class background, and young, abled body has given me opportunities and advantages others don’t have. But, I hadn’t thought too deeply about the privileges that come with being a natural born, American citizen. I’ve stood up to salute the flag every day in school, watched fireworks on the fourth of July, and generally felt proud to be an American; but, …