unheard voices at the texas-mexico border wall

250 Pages·2011·1.07 MB·English

by  Jennifer Correa

UNHEARD VOICES AT THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER WALL:
FRAGMENTATION, CITIZENSHIP, AND OPPOSITION IN A WAR ON TERROR

_______________________________________
A Dissertation
presented to
the Faculty of the Graduate School
at the University of Missouri-Columbia
_______________________________________________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
_____________________________________________________
by
JENNIFER G. CORREA
Dr. Ibitola Pearce, Dissertation Supervisor
JULY 2011
© Copyright by Jennifer G. Correa 2011
All Rights Reserved
The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the
dissertation entitled

UNHEARD VOICES AT THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER WALL:
FRAGMENTATION, CITIZENSHIP, AND OPPOSITION IN A WAR ON TERROR

presented by Jennifer G. Correa,
a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy

and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance.

Professor Ibitola Pearce

Professor Jaber Gubrium

Professor Amit Prasad

Professor Lisa Y. Flores

Professor Mary Romero
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research project came to fruition because a number of people stood by my side.
First, I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to my dissertation chair, mentor, and friend Dr.
Ibitola “Tola” Pearce. Dr. Pearce’s patience, understanding, and enduring commitment never
failed and never grew weary. Dr. Pearce’s knowledge and scholarly work involving women,
rights, race, and globalization were instrumental in the dissertation project. In addition, she was
a major support system through the ups and the downs of being in a PhD graduate program. Dr.
Pearce is the kind of scholar and woman I aspire to be. Thank you for guiding me in this
intellectual and professional journey.
Secondly, my dissertation committee – Dr. Jaber “Jay” Gubrium, Dr. Amit Prasad, Dr.
Mary Romero, and Dr. Lisa Y. Flores supported me at every step of the way. Dr. Gubrium kept
me on my toes in theorizing about “the State,” and his critical questions and insightful feedback
continue to guide my work. Dr. Amit Prasad’s theory courses influenced my thinking on the
State, nation, and citizenship and aided in formulating the theoretical underpinnings for the
dissertation. Dr. Mary Romero has been a constant source of inspiration as a Latina scholar in
the academy. She is a renowned scholar in the areas of Latina/o sociology, immigration,
citizenship, and race and this background played in fundamental role in shaping my research
questions and methodology. Dr. Romero’s influential concepts and theories in Latina/o
sociology informed my own ideas for this project. Also an influential Latina scholar, Dr. Lisa Y.
Flores’s expertise in Mexican Americans and Latina/o immigrants as well as her experiential
knowledge of the Texas border region where I conducted was tremendously helpful.

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Furthermore, I would like to thank Mary Oakes and Debbie Friedrich our MU Sociology
Administrative personnel for all their assistance and guidance as a graduate student and
instructor. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Clarence Lo for believing in me and nominating
me for the Gus T. Ridgel Fellowship. The Ridgel Fellowship provided me with much needed
financial support throughout my five years as a PhD student. Furthermore, I thank Dr. George
Justice, Associate Dean, at the MU Graduate School for providing me with support and
mentorship during my time at MU. Finally, I would like to extend a huge “thank you” to Mr.
Michael Moore IT Specialist here at Mizzou for assisting me with the formatting of this
dissertation. As the saying goes, “we never do anything alone” – we always have people helping
us along the way. Thank you all very much for your help, time, and commitment to me and this
project!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION......................................................................................1
Introduction..................................................................................................................................1
Research Questions......................................................................................................................1
Significance.................................................................................................................................2
Project Roadmap..........................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND...............................................................5
Introduction..................................................................................................................................5
Mexican Americans in the Southwest.........................................................................................5
Policing the “Frontier” for Over 175 Years...............................................................................16
Texas Rangers.......................................................................................................................16
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol)...........................................................19
State Laws Against Terrorism...................................................................................................25
Federal Inter-Agency Cooperation Against the War on Terror.................................................29
Department of Homeland Security........................................................................................29
Department of Justice: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)......................................32
The State and the Complexities of Securing the Texas-Mexico Border....................................34
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................39
CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................41
Introduction................................................................................................................................41
Social Construction of Latinas/os: Anti-Mexican Hysteria.......................................................41
Implications of a State-Waged War Against Immigrants..........................................................44
Chapter Summary......................................................................................................................48
CHAPTER 4: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK............................................................50
Introduction................................................................................................................................50
State, Nation, and Power Theories.............................................................................................50
Feminist Theories......................................................................................................................57
Critical Race Theory..................................................................................................................61
Borderland Studies.....................................................................................................................68
Chapter Summary......................................................................................................................76
CHAPTER 5: METHODOLOGY AND METHOD.......................................................80
Situating the Research/Researcher.............................................................................................80
Methods.....................................................................................................................................83
Brief Description of the Setting.................................................................................................89
Research Limitations.................................................................................................................93
Demographic Characteristics of Respondents...........................................................................93
CHAPTER 6: FINDINGS Protecting the Homeland: Fragmentation of State Agents.101
Introduction..............................................................................................................................101
Beneficial Deterrent from the Other........................................................................................103
Procurement of American Economy........................................................................................106
Social Paranoia and State Action.............................................................................................110

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Summary..................................................................................................................................117
CHAPTER 7: FINDINGS Local Government Officials Contending with Federal State
Actions............................................................................................................................119
Introduction..............................................................................................................................119
State Imposition and Dismissal of Local Knowledge..............................................................120
Acquiescing to the Federal State.............................................................................................126
Summary..................................................................................................................................132
CHAPTER 8: FINDINGS Landowners Respond to Federal State.................................134
Introduction..............................................................................................................................134
The Secure Fence Act As An Erosion of Democracy via Cultural and Racial Discrimination
.................................................................................................................................................135
The Secure Fence Act As Jeopardizing Citizen’s Safety.........................................................146
Summary..................................................................................................................................161
CHAPTER 9: FINDINGS Community Members Take to the Streets...........................162
Introduction..............................................................................................................................162
American “Patriots” Support the Federal State.......................................................................163
Barrier as Permeable and Unifying..........................................................................................169
“Us” (Southern border) v. “Them” (North): Politicians Whipping Up Fear...........................176
Summary..................................................................................................................................181
Conclusion of Chapter Findings..............................................................................................182
CHAPTER 10: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION..................................................185
Introduction..............................................................................................................................185
Federal State Border Law Enforcement Officers....................................................................186
Local Government...................................................................................................................189
Texas landowners....................................................................................................................191
Community Members..............................................................................................................193
The Power of the State to Construct the Other........................................................................195
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................197
BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................206
APPENDIX A.................................................................................................................228
Institutional Review Board Acceptance Form.........................................................................228
APPENDIX B.................................................................................................................230
Research Verbal Consent Form...............................................................................................230
APPENDIX C.................................................................................................................232
Landowners/Residents Interview Schedule.............................................................................232
APPENDIX D.................................................................................................................235
Officials Interview Schedule...................................................................................................235
APPENDIX E.................................................................................................................239
APPENDIX F.................................................................................................................239
VITA...............................................................................................................................241


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UNHEARD VOICES AT THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER WALL:
FRAGMENTATION, CITIZENSHIP, AND OPPOSITION IN A WAR ON TERROR


Jennifer G. Correa

Dr. Ibitola Pearce, Dissertation Supervisor

ABSTRACT

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a shift has occurred in the
discursive framing of undocumented Mexican immigrants who have entered the United
States. The federal State has publicly proclaimed a “War on Terror” solidly coupling
immigration and terrorism concerns rearticulating “illegal aliens” as would-be “terrorists”
through the establishment the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (Chacón and
Davis 2006; Newman 2006; Fernandes 2007; Doty 2009; Massey 2009). This shift in the
discourse has impacted the U.S.-Mexico border by re-framing this geo-socio-political
boundary and its inhabitants as a potential terrorism threat to American National
Security. The findings demonstrate that the U.S.-Mexico border does not intrinsically
hold definitions of constant “crisis,” “chaos,” and “lawlessness.”
The social construction of people of Mexican-origin and the U.S.-Mexico border
region as dangerous by the federal State serves two fundamental purposes: (1) To control
and manage a targeted population and; (2) To spread fear among the general population
while simultaneously fashioning itself as the knowledgeable expert. This control and
management of a targeted population was done through the Secure Fence Act of 2006 – a
670-mile concrete barrier between the U.S. and Mexico. The narratives of border

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residents are used to illustrate how the State’s barrier impacts their daily lives,
subjectivities, and rights.


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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Introduction


Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a shift has occurred in the
discursive framing of undocumented Mexican immigrants who have entered the United
States. The federal State has publicly proclaimed a “War on Terror” solidly coupling
immigration and terrorism concerns characterizing “illegal aliens” as potential
“terrorists” through the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
(Chacón and Davis 2006; Newman 2006; Fernandes 2007; Doty 2009; Massey 2009). I
argue that this shift in the discourse has impacted the U.S.-Mexico border by re-framing
this geo-socio-political boundary and its inhabitants as a potential terrorism threat to
American National Security. This research will investigate how the State is presently
constructing Latinas/os residing along the Texas -Mexico border via the Secure Fence
Act of 2006 (SFA) and in turn how this policy has shaped the lived experiences of Texas
border residents. A multimethod approach was used in order to investigate this linkage.
Research
Questions


In this study, I propose to examine the following two research questions: 1.) What
role does the federal State play in shaping the lives of border residents, in particular,
Latinas/os living along the Texas-Mexico border via the Secure Fence Act? 2.) How have
Texas borderlanders confronted the federal State and this new material reality? There are
two overall goals that I wish to achieve in this project: First, to shift the voices of Texas
landowners and residents from the margins to the center in the political discursive field of

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