The Militarization of ICE and Hyper-Surveillance of Latinx Immigrants

Abstract

Since the creation of this country, exclusion based on race and class has been upheld by racist immigration, citizenship and labor laws. From slavery to segregation and from mass incarceration to the exploitation and criminalization of immigrant labor. The capitalist inclusion and nationalist exclusion of people of color are not separate ideologies instead they work together to ensure the original purpose of a homogeneous nation. ICE's most important but hidden purpose is to uphold a white homogeneous nation. Their practices not only target undocumented communities but specifically undocumented communities of color. Migrants of color in the U.S. are prevented from fully "assimilating" into whiteness due to their racialization; undocumented immigrants have even less access to social, political and economic rights due to a process that prevents access to permanent residency but ensures a cheap labor flow. This normalizes the violent enforcement of immigration laws on undocumented communities of color since they are not deemed deserving of whiteness and citizenship.