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Border Enforcement and
Immigrant Incorporation
(Immigrant incorporation is a
theme we will return to)
Political Science 126C /
Chicano/Latino Studies 163
Lecture 7
January 29, 2009
Themes for Today
1.
2.
3.
Border enforcement
Theories of Immigrant Incorporation
Political dimensions of immigrant
incorporation – Naturalization
U.S.-Mexico Border, 1924
U.S.-Mexico Border, 2008
Most Popular Enforcement
Strategy – Control at the Border

In the popular mind, that’s where the problem lies
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Neglects the fact that 45 percent of unauthorized
migrants are visa over-stayers
Assumed to be a quick, if expensive, fix
Current wave of border enforcement began in the
early 1990s
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Barriers
Technology
Staffing
2000
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1500
1000
500
0
Expenditures (In Real 1990$
Miillions)
Sustained Increase in Border
Enforcement Spending
89 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 000 001 002 003 004 005 006
9
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Fiscal Year
Expenditures
Source: Wayne Cornelius. How Border Enforcement Has Reshaped
Mexican Migration to the United States
And in Border Patrol
Staffing
Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
Secure Border Initiative &
Secure Fence Act (2006)
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Up to 700 miles of fence (border 1,900+
miles)
1,800 hi-tech towers equipped with radar
and video cameras
Ground sensors and vehicle barriers
Aerial drones
Cost:
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Fence: $2.2 to $14 billion
Secure border: $2 billion
2009 Border Enforcement
Budget
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19% increase in border security and immigration
enforcement
$12.1 billion
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Border fencing
Hire more border patrol
Expand number of teams to raid businesses
Goals (by end of 2009)
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20,000 border patrol FTE (authorized)
601 of 670 miles of fence completed
1,000 more detention beds
Will it Work?
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Or, at least, will it work for unauthorized border
crossers?
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Dilemma 1 – Border patrol can’t hire fast enough, so
won’t reach authorized levels
Dilemma 2 – Border controls since 1993 have not
reduced unauthorized migration
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Increased the cost of migration (increasing the use of
coyotes)
Shifted points of entry (and the risks of nature)
Lack of response to new enforcement is not simply the
result of faulty information on immigrants’ parts
Staffing Doesn’t Guarantee
Apprehensions
Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
Themes for Today
1.
2.
3.
Border enforcement
Theories of Immigrant
Incorporation
Political dimensions of immigrant
incorporation – Naturalization
Models of Immigrant
Incorporation
1.
2.
3.


Assimilation
“New assimilation” with particular attention
to status at entry
Segmented assimilation
Assimilation (definition) – the social process
of absorbing one cultural group into
harmony with another
Developed in Sociology, but has been
adapted to political incorporation also
Standard Measures
Language
Education and labor force outcomes
Identity
Marriage patterns
All good indicators and offer important insights
(highlighting that no model offers complete explanation of
immigrant incorporation)
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Focused on social indicators of particular interest to Sociologists
I want to focus on a formal political indicator – naturalization
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Limit – only immigrants naturalize
So, doesn’t offer a multi-generational measure
Themes for Today
1.
2.
3.
Border enforcement
Theories of Immigrant Incorporation
Political dimensions of
immigrant incorporation –
Naturalization
Naturalization Requirements
(with some exceptions)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Reside legally in the United States for five years
Demonstrate speaking, writing, and reading
abilities in English and knowledge of basic U.S.
history and civics
Be of “good moral character”
Take an oath to defend the Constitution
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5.
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Requires applicants to abjure loyalty to former sovereign
Pay fee of $595, plus $80 fee for fingerprinting
Informal – complete a 10 page application form
Naturalization by Decade
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
19071910
1920s
1940s
1960s
1980s
200009
est.
Naturalizations
1981-2006
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
Total
Naturalizations
600,000
Mexican
Immigrant
Naturalizations
400,000
200,000
20
08
20
06
20
01
19
96
19
91
19
86
19
81
0
Why The Fluctuations?
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Naturalization-eligible respond to incentives
and resources
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Incentives
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Changes in the law that shape immigrant rights and
opportunities
Changes in the attitude toward immigrants
Resources
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Government promotion of naturalization (mid 1990s)
Community-based organizational efforts to promote
naturalization
Naturalization in the
Coming Years
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Currently,
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8.5 million citizenship-eligible immigrants
Pool increases each year with newly eligible; increase at
roughly the rate of new applications
Pool can diminish
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Will require a national investment from immigrant
advocacy community
Post-2006 support for naturalization must become
continuous in immigrant communities
Congress could simply naturalization (unlikely in period
of anti-immigrant fervor)
Other State Immigrant
Incorporation Policies/Practices
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States
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Public (K-12) education
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Language
Civics
Adult education
Professional licensing
General findings
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Immigrants (and particularly their children) adopting
U.S. cultural practices and values
Except for language, the adoption is not linear
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Variation by nationality, status at entry, immigrant education,
and experiences of co-ethnics in the United States