IMMIGRATION POLICY,BORDER SECURITY,AND MIGRANT DEATHS: AN IMPACT EVALUATION OF LIFE‐SAVING EFFORTS UNDER THE BORDER SAFETY INITIATIVE*

Subsequent to U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) efforts to control illegal immigration throughout the 1990s, concern arose over an apparent increase in deaths of illegal migrants as they began to undertake more treacherous routes to enter the United States from Mexico. In response, the Border Safety Initiative (BSI) was created to increase safety along the southwest border. Using multiple data sources, including the USBP BSI Incident Tracking System, this study evaluated the impact of life‐saving efforts performed under the BSI program. Results indicate that there has been no overall reduction in the rate of migrant deaths since BSI has been in operation. However, an evaluation of BORSTAR search and rescue teams and the 2003 Lateral Repatriation Program (LRP), which returned apprehended migrants from Tucson sector to less hazardous places along the border, were found to be effective in preventing migrant deaths. Policy Implications: Critics of U.S. immigration policy claim that the only way reductions in migrant deaths along the U.S.‐Mexico border can be achieved is through liberalization of immigration policy and relaxing of border security. Yet, for more than a decade, U.S. policy makers have increased restrictions on immigration and have tightened security at the borders. Considering this, alternative means must be deployed in order to save migrant lives in the near term rather than waiting for a reversal of immigration policy. This study suggests that proactive life‐saving measures implemented through a harm‐reduction strategy can have some impact on saving migrant lives.     

Designating Safety,Denying Persecution: Implications for Roma Refugee Claimants in Canada

In response to the arrival in Canada of thousands of Hungarian Roma asylum seekers, a new and restrictive refugee regime was installed. Legislation included Designated Countries of Origin or “safe” countries from which refugee claimants were stripped of some entitlements. Acceptance rates fluctuate in loose reticulation with several factors. When negative decisions are made on refugee claims, conditions of persecution in Hungary are denied even though they are clearly demonstrable. Inclusion of claimants' voices substantiates a normalized violence. When decision makers parse the criterion of persecution and when political leaders dismiss claims as “bogus,” the consequence is the reconfiguration of the Roma as essentially nomadic.     

Missing in action: practice,paralegality, and the nature of immigration enforcement

U.S. immigration control is typically understood in terms of enforcement practices undertaken by federal officers guided by legislation and court decisions. While legislation and court opinions are important components of the immigration control apparatus, they do not adequately account for immigration control ‘on the ground.’ To explore this problem, we advance the concept of paralegality, the practices and operations that constitute a dynamic system of actions and relationships that are not simply linear applications of legislation or judicial decisions but may in fact extend or counter these texts. We illustrate the importance of paralegality by reconstructing the evolution of the §287(g) and Secure Communities programs, both of which have shape-shifted dramatically since their inception. Our account of immigration control highlights the problem practice poses for law, proposes a theoretical alternative to textual-law-centric research on immigration and law enforcement, and contributes to scholarship on everyday citizenship.     

On the Rights of Undocumented Children

Changes in immigration laws over the last three to four decades have given rise to unprecedented numbers of undocumented children. However, as others have argued, policies regarding the control of undocumented migration have had deleterious effects on undocumented children and their basic access to social rights. Undocumented youth in the United States can legally attend K-12 education, but cannot legally work, vote, receive financial aid, or drive in most states. Their situation calls for a reexamination of immigration laws and a recasting of the frame that has been used to promote their inclusion.

Examining the Link Between Issue Attitudes and News Source: The Case of Latinos and Immigration Reform

This paper explores whether an individual’s news source can explain their attitudes on immigration. We focus on the Spanish-speaking population in the U.S., since they have the option of accessing their news in English, Spanish or in both languages. Our audience influence hypothesis predicts that Spanish-language news will cover immigration in a more positive and informative manner than will English-language news. Thus, Latinos who use Spanish-language news may have a higher likelihood of possessing pro-immigrant sentiments than Latinos who only use English-language news. Content analysis of Spanish and English-language television news segments reveals variations in the tone and substance of these news outlets. Analysis of Latino survey respondents indicates that immigration attitudes vary by news source. Generational status also influences Latinos’ immigration attitudes, though its impact is not as great as one’s news source.

北美投资移民立法之启迪

各国制定移民法的宗旨为：通过立法对移民的规模、构成、素质以及经济能力进行调控，以达到为本国政治、经济和安全各项利益服务的目的。因此，各国移民法的共同特点是在体现迁徙自由和人道主义的国际法原则下，以最低成本吸引他国专业技术人才和资本，从而促进本国社会和经济的发展。其中，近年以美国、加拿大及其魁北克省为代表的投资移民立法就是这种趋势的典型反映。因此，笔者拟就北美国家关于投资移民的立法进行比较评析，同时研讨中国关于投资移民立法的前景。     

试论非法移民对美国国家安全的影响

非法移民是非传统安全领域的一个重要组成部分,同时也是国际社会所面临的一个共同问题。＂9·11＂事件后,美国社会对于非法移民与国家安全的关注达到了新的高度。非法移民与美国国家安全之间存在一定的相关性,这可从社会安全、国土安全与文化安全三个维度来分析非法移民对美国国家安全所产生的影响。在一定程度上,非法移民问题使得美国的国家安全环境变得复杂化,成为美国国家安全一个不容忽视的挑战。但是,过分夸大非法移民问题对美国国家安全的影响也与客观事实不符。     

Transformation: the Progression of Immigration Petitions for Transgender Spouses

U.S. citizens who marry foreign nationals may petition for their spouses so that the couple can reside permanently together in the United States. The guidelines set forth in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Adjudicator's Field Manual provide guidance to immigration officials for determining whether to grant or deny spousal petitions. Previously, the Adjudicator's Field Manual imposed a requirement that transgender individuals undergo costly and dangerous sex reassignment surgery in order to qualify as married for the purposes of a spousal petition. However, revisions to the Adjudicator's Field Manual issued in April 2012 provide transgender binational couples the opportunity to remain together in the United States without forcing one partner to undergo sex reassignment surgery. Given the history of discrimination against transgender individuals under U.S. immigration law, these revisions are a significant step in equality for transgender couples. Although these revisions provide many transgender binational couples with a means to remain together in the United States, this Note proposes that, to continue on the path toward equality for transgender couples, special guidelines should not be applied to marriages involving transgender partners if their marriage is deemed a valid heterosexual marriage in the state where solemnized. The goals of U.S. immigration law and compliance with the federal definition of marriage can be achieved without implementing individualized guidelines for transgender binational couples.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• Transgender spouses of a binational couple should not be subjected to additional guidelines when submitting spousal petitions that, if granted, would afford the couple the opportunity to reside together in the United States
• Transgender individuals should not be subjected to disparate treatment solely because the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seeks to enforce discriminatory provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act
• A marriage should be recognized by immigration law if it is a valid marriage under the law of the state where the marriage was celebrated
• In order to achieve U.S. immigration law's mission of family unification, nontraditional couples should be afforded the same opportunity to remain together in the United States without additional scrutiny

     

在华的印尼新娘:商品化婚姻、人口贩卖与骗婚

印尼在华的合约新娘问题引起了中国、印尼政府与社会的广泛关注。中印尼经济发展的差距、非法中介谋求暴利和印尼新娘对富裕生活的向往,成为在华印尼新娘群体日益扩大的动因。在华的印尼新娘问题并不是单一的社会问题,其中杂糅了商品化婚姻、人口贩卖和婚姻诈骗等问题,处理起来千头万绪,十分棘手。稍有不慎,极有可能成为第二个"印尼的中国劳工问题"。因此,在解决在华的印尼新娘问题时,中国应完善涉外婚姻法,加强与印尼的合作,严厉打击从事非法涉外婚姻介绍的个人或组织,严厉惩治人口贩卖,及时解救被贩人员,建立健全跨国婚姻纠纷应对机制,尽快形成两国婚姻信息的互通机制及查询制度,共同扩建自由婚姻领域,促进跨国婚姻的和谐稳定。