The US-Mexican Border and Contemporary American Immigration Policy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.81.12

Keywords:

immigration, the wall, irregular migration, unaccompanied minors, Covid‑19, border policy

Abstract

There have been several periods in American history that are referred to as turbulent times. They were characterized by a wide range of changes that happened to respond to issues that brought anxiety, threat, discontent, or trouble. Donald Trump’s presidency and the Covid‑19 pandemic significantly influenced American immigration policy and the lives of immigrants. The present article pays special attention to the Mexican‑American border. This area plays a crucial role in migration studies focusing on the Americas for at least two reasons: international relations between Mexico (and the Latin American region) and the United States, and homeland security issues related to irregular and regular migrant flows. This study aims to determine what changes have been implemented in border policy, investigate why they occurred, and finally, discuss their results. The article analyzes the most challenging issues characteristic of the situation of unaccompanied minor migrants, the concept of Trump’s wall or the ‘remain in Mexico’ program. The US‑Mexican border studies have played a crucial role in research dedicated to American immigration policy since its inception. Today, it is also an area of concern and special attention is paid to this region due to the dynamics of processes taking place at the border. The work presented here discusses and highlights the most turbulent issues that echoed not only in the United States but also worldwide.

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Author Biography

Anna Bartnik, Jagiellonian University in Kraków

Earned her PhD degree in the Institute of Political Science at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Since then she has been working as assistant professor at the Jagiellonian University in the Institute of American Studies and Polish Diaspora. Her research is dedicated to American immigration law and policy, Hispanic immigrants in the USA and American local government. She has published books and articles related to her research (e.g. Migration to the United States of America in the Age of Globalization: Determinants, Interactions, and Consequences, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2019 and Hispanic Immigrants in the United States after World War II: Cubans, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, Księgarnia Akademicka, Kraków 2012).

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Published

2022-12-28

How to Cite

Bartnik, Anna. 2022. “The US-Mexican Border and Contemporary American Immigration Policy”. Politeja 19 (6(81):235-52. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.81.12.