Mapping the denial of space : Latinos and United States immigration law

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dc.contributor.advisorTorres, Rebecca Maria
dc.creatorFlynn, Paul Conan
dc.creator.orcid0000-0001-7232-5769
dc.date.accessioned2018-03-22T22:19:09Z
dc.date.available2018-03-22T22:19:09Z
dc.date.created2017-08
dc.date.issued2017-08-09
dc.date.submittedAugust 2017
dc.date.updated2018-03-22T22:19:10Z
dc.description.abstractImmigration legal spaces such as courtrooms and national borders are constructed by the geopolitical tensions that exist between U.S. nationalism and foreign bodies traversing its territory. Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadorian, and Hondurans—referred to as Latinos in this research—constitute nearly all of deportation from the United States in recent decades. In addition to these deportation trends, Latinos are also less likely to receive some form of relief from deportation despite increasing violence and political instability in Latin America. Immigration law is federal and therefore is supposed to provide the same standards and protocols for all nationalities in every immigration court. This thesis investigates how the immigration and asylum process is in fact spatialized and biased to regional politics. The connection between rituals, myths, and symbols of nationalism in the judgement of Latinos are also examined. A third component explores how migrant and refugee bodies are codified in immigration law through their experiences with immigration legal spaces. This thesis uses a mixed methods approach to understanding the spatial processes involved in the judgement and deportation of Latinos from the United States. GIS is used to validate the uneven geography of immigrant justice and identify specific locations of inequality. Reflected in the geospatial analysis, Texas’ courts are places of increased deportations and denials of asylum. Ethnographic observations in San Antonio and Pearsall’s courtrooms were conducted to extract qualitative information elucidating the asymmetric use of immigration enforcement. A second field site in Chicago was chosen to compare the impacts of border politics on Latinos in removal hearings. My research finds that immigration legal spaces are constructed through the use of nationalist myths and symbols to control the mobility of Latino bodies. Moreover, deportations are significantly influenced by geopolitics and the spatial relationship of immigration legal spaces.
dc.description.departmentGeography and the Environment
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifierdoi:10.15781/T2XD0RF2G
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/63956
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectImmigration
dc.subjectLatinos
dc.subjectMexico
dc.subjectGuatemala
dc.subjectEl Salvador
dc.subjectHonduras
dc.subjectLegal spaces
dc.subjectGIS
dc.subjectCourtroom ethnography
dc.subjectFeminist geopolitics
dc.subjectUnited States immigration law
dc.subjectImmigration law
dc.subjectGeopolitical tensions
dc.subjectLatino deportation
dc.subjectImmigration law bias
dc.subjectImmigration process
dc.subjectAsylum process
dc.subjectRegional political bias
dc.subjectJudgement of Latinos
dc.subjectMigrant bodies
dc.subjectRefugee bodies
dc.subjectImmigrant justice
dc.subjectGeospatial analysis
dc.subjectBorder politics
dc.titleMapping the denial of space : Latinos and United States immigration law
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialtext
thesis.degree.departmentGeography and the Environment
thesis.degree.disciplineGeography
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas at Austin
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts

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