Download the Full Report:
Preliminary Data from the Migrant Border Crossing Study
Conclusions: What is
security?
Increased border enforcement has dominated recent
discussions about immigration reform. The idea that reform can only happen once
the border is secure raises troubling issues, not least of which is a lack of
understanding of what a secure border means. While
developing security metrics is a start, whatever is decided will only
encompass a small portion of what security might mean for different groups. Is
a secure border one where nothing
and no one that is unauthorized can pass through it?
An impermeable border is impossible if the United States and
Mexico expect to maintain or expand trade and economic development. Are there
other options, such as promoting economic development in Mexico and Central
America that provide people with the option not to migrate, commonly referred to as, “el
derecho de no migrar”?
Rather than assert that more border enforcement is necessary to proceed
with immigration reform, we would like to re-visit what border enforcement aims
to accomplish.
While the official mission of the Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) is to prevent terrorism*, this is
hardly its day-to-day task. The
moment the Immigration and
Naturalization Services (INS) was replaced by the Department of Homeland
Security as the umbrella organization for the USBP, they became part of a
security oriented organization rather than an organization that provides a
service. We need to re-examine
what this means for our goals in regard to border security, immigration
procedures and for border communities that live with the consequences of
national strategies* *.
The Migrant Border Crossing Study (MBCS) sheds light on what
is actually happening in the name of security along the border. Does Operation
Streamline of ATEP increase security? Does family separation and migrant
detention increase security? To
conflate all immigration enforcement with security distorts the true nature of
these programs. Any discussion of
reforms needs to address the explicit and implicit goals of specific enforcement
programs, as well as the unintended consequences that we have discussed
throughout this report. The
impacts of the current approach to immigration enforcement will be felt for
generations. We are currently at a
juncture where we can change course and reconceive of a humane immigration
system and inclusive security that addresses our needs as one society connected by family, economics and
the desire to make a life for ourselves and our loved ones.
Keep family unification at
the forefront of immigration reform
 |
| La Familia by Joaquin Chiñas |
- Giving young adults legal status is a good start, but without their families included in a reform it is not enough to substantially change the dynamics of undocumented migration
- Border security cannot be achieved by programs that punish non-violent immigration offenders
- We must re-examine why we allocate so many resources to assigning criminal sentences and punishments to people with no previous criminal history
- It is also important to dissect criminal categories and provide relief for people that have criminal histories purely because of immigration violations
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Look for forthcoming
publications using weighted data and inferential analyses, as well as a public
forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. on May 30th, 2013.
*
“We protect the American public against terrorists and the implements of terror.” There is no mention of unauthorized migrants. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/about/mission/guardians.xml
*
*
Heyman, Josiah. 2012. Guns, Drugs and Money: Tackling the Real Threats at the Border. Immigration Policy Institute.
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/perspectives/guns-drugs-and-money-tackling-real-threats-border-security
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