Description

Mexican Border Crossers: The Mexican Body in Immigration Discourse

The authors’ view of the U.S.-Mexico border is that it is not a static, one-dimensional representation of social and cultural space. Employing critical theory, they suggest that the border is transnational and transcultural. It has its own synergism, which allows for the blending of social identities and cultural representations into a hybrid representation of border crossers and border residents. The article shows that in building a border fence, the U.S. government robs the U.S.-Mexico border of its identity as a transcultural social space to reinforce Anglo hegemony regarding biased views of the border. Since Mexicans are the only ones perceived as “crossers,” this wall strips them of the opportunity to use the border as a vehicle for their representation in border space. Specific anti-immigrant legislation passed in Pennsylvania serves as a case study.

U.S.-Mexico border, Hazelton, Pennsylvania, ordinance

Citation: Social Justice Vol. 35, No. 4 (2008): 99-106