Illegal Immigration Chapter Summary

Being born on American soil is a privilege that allows for a blind eye to be turned towards controversial and uncomfortable issues that don't directly affect our lives. This, however, does not change the reality of migrant experiences and the control of international migration.
Chapter five in Illegality Inc examines the life African migrants are faced with once they have managed to cross the border into Ceuta. Although, they believed “fortune was smiling upon them”, many hoped and desired to receive refugee status but, ended up as “Europe's most abject Other”-illegal immigrants. As previously explored, the term illegal immigrant carries with it a negative connotation and is even viewed as a stigma, both home and abroad. As the primary object of scrutiny, pity, and coercion it would not be long before these migrants rebelled and began protesting against their confinement by occupying downtown Ceuta. Evidence of the building discontent amongst migrants is displayed in this quote, “ We are not newborns,” “We are men” (pg. 185). Without permission to work, residents of the camp were forced to accept any handouts coming their way. Migrants are people filled with dignity, pride, and
Although, I fundamentally disagree with the recent executive orders of our president. I acknowledge that migration is made up of an interconnected web of socioeconomic and political factors that makes the process complicated. With this in mind, closing off the borders of the U.S to refugees and immigrants may or may not lead to changes in safety but, one thing is certain, alienation and isolation of a specific group will spark outrage and create greater division in this country. Armed with knowledge and facts are the only way to combat against ignorance, prejudice and to avoid turning a blind eye. My hope is that some day soon clandestine migration will be a thing of the past and that finding a home away from home will not be so