"Illegality" and Bordering Politics Surrounding Latinx Migrants : Through a Legal Lens

Abstract

This paper discusses how the perceived "illegality" of Latinx migrants is a product of the presence of physical borders, the legal system, and white supremacy in the U.S. The perceived "illegality" of Latinx migrants has many contributing factors but three major factors are the construction of the U.S./Mexico border, the structure of the U.S. legal system, and the presence of white supremacy in the United States. Illegalization, derived as the concept that someone's legal right to exist (in the eyes of the state) can be read based on their physical attributes, behaviors, and documentation. The "illegality" of Latinx migrants is constructed through the presence of physical borders because it facilitates fear mongering through a visual presentation of a border. If further analyzed, this prospect or a giant structure would induce the fear of who or what may exist on the other side. This has potential for one side of a border to create false narratives. about the people from the other side, making their presence in said territory, unwelcome. Physical borders discussed in this paper are in reference to any access point in or out of the U.S. or Mexico, this can be a place where buildings arc present or desert, or other terrain is present. This could also be any place where fences, walls, or constructed barriers that are not meant to be passed, arc present. These structures or terrain supports a schema that there is something or someone who is too dangerous to let in, and justifies the deployment of extreme measures to keep them out.