Source: Lecture 23, UC Berkeley ES21AC
Tags: crimmigration, immigration law, nativism, border militarism, deportation, prison-industrial complex, PIC, mass incarceration, racial profiling, criminalisation of immigrants
This lecture examines how the U.S. immigration system intersects with the criminal justice system, a convergence scholars call "crimmigration." It covers the push-pull factors behind migration, the social costs of current immigration policy, and the argument that today's immigration politics represent a return to nativism rather than a post-9/11 phenomenon. The prison-industrial complex (PIC) and border enforcement are framed as interconnected systems of control.
Crimmigration
The tight, mutually reinforcing association between immigration enforcement and criminal law. Immigration violations are increasingly treated as criminal offences, and immigrants are increasingly funnelled into the criminal justice system.
Nativism
The political stance that the interests of native-born or established inhabitants should take priority over those of immigrants. In the U.S., nativism has surged and receded in cycles throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
Prison-Industrial Complex (PIC)
The network of government and private interests that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as responses to social, political, and economic problems. In theory it includes rehabilitation, but in practice rehabilitation has largely failed to materialise.
Borderlism (border theatre)
The idea that the narrative of a "border out of control" is a political performance. In reality, borders must be crossed and goods must flow; the spectacle of enforcement serves political rather than strictly security purposes.
1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
Landmark legislation that replaced national-origin quotas with a system based on categories of admission (family reunification, skills, refugees). Represented a shift from overt nativism to a non-discrimination framework.
"Single story" (danger of)
The risk of reducing an entire group of people to one narrative, e.g. framing all immigrants through the lens of criminality. Limits understanding and fuels stereotyping.
"Wanted but not recognised"
A phrase describing immigrants whose labour is desired by the economy but whose legal presence is denied or ignored.
"Recognised but not wanted"
A phrase describing immigrants who are legally visible but face racial hostility and exclusion. Closely tied to structural racism.
Push factors drive people away from their home country; pull factors attract them to a destination. The lecture identified a broad range:
Unemployment, poverty, and lack of resources
Economic instability
Political persecution
War and genocide
Colonialism and its lasting effects
Natural disasters
Evading military conscription (the draft)
Pull factors include:
The promise of democracy, freedoms, rights (the "American dream")
Educational opportunity
Asylum and refugee protections
Tags: push factors, pull factors, migration drivers, asylum seekers, refugees, economic migration, political persecution
The lecture catalogued social costs that fall on both immigrants and the broader society:
Racial profiling and heightened racial tensions
Discrimination embedded in housing, healthcare, education, and employment systems
Cultural and religious intolerance
Segregation
Exploited labour, alongside the politically charged narrative that "immigrants steal jobs"
Strain on resources and overpopulation concerns
Growth of black markets and illegal trades
Poverty, food insecurity, healthcare insecurity, job insecurity
Military-style surveillance, police brutality, deportation (which breaks up families)
Widening income inequality
Tags: racial profiling, labour exploitation, deportation, family separation, income inequality, healthcare insecurity
The lecture traces three phases of U.S. immigration politics:
Early 20th-century nativism: rooted in economic competition, fear of immigrants undercutting wages and taking jobs.
Non-discrimination era (post-1965): the Immigration and Nationality Act replaced quota systems with admission categories. A shift toward formal equality.
Return of nativism (mid-1990s onward): the current period is framed as a new wave of nativism, not primarily a response to 9/11. It includes a focus on women's bodies and reproductive capacity (e.g. debates about "anchor babies"), welfare reform, and a reassertion of who counts as "native" and entitled to belong.
Key arguments from the lecture:
The foundation for contemporary immigration discourse was laid in the mid-1990s, before September 11, 2001. The "War on Terror" accelerated trends that were already in motion.
The PIC is built on the idea of punishment combined with rehabilitation, but rehabilitation has not materialised in practice.
Capital seeks and creates labour markets. The border enforcement system is hypermasculinised (militarised patrols, detention), while the labour system it feeds is hyperfeminised (domestic work, care work, agriculture).
Borderlism is theatre: the narrative that "the border is out of control" coexists with an economic reality in which goods, services, and labour must cross that border continuously.
Tags: nativism cycles, 1965 Immigration Act, welfare reform, 9/11 immigration myth, hypermasculinised border, hyperfeminised labour, anchor baby debate
James Kilgore, a former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), spoke about mass incarceration. He was separated from his family for 27 years, was eventually discovered by the FBI, and served a prison sentence. His emphasis was not on his personal story but on the systemic effects of mass incarceration on the people he met inside.
The lecture noted the need for more speakers of colour to address these intersections, and flagged that funding and scheduling are practical barriers.
Tags: James Kilgore, SLA, Symbionese Liberation Army, mass incarceration, guest speaker
⚠️ "Crimmigration" as a concept is central to this lecture. Be able to define it and explain how immigration enforcement and criminal law reinforce each other.
⚠️ The argument that current immigration politics trace back to mid-1990s nativism, not to 9/11, is a key analytical claim. Exams may test whether students can distinguish the timeline.
⚠️ Know the three phases: nativism → non-discrimination (1965) → nativism again (mid-1990s onward).
⚠️ "Borderlism" and the idea that border enforcement is theatre (not purely security) is a distinctive argument worth being able to articulate.
⚠️ The gendered dimension: hypermasculinised border enforcement paired with hyperfeminised labour markets.
Q: What is "crimmigration" and why is the concept significant?
A: Crimmigration refers to the merging of immigration enforcement and criminal law, where immigration violations are treated as criminal offences and immigrants are increasingly processed through the criminal justice system. It is significant because it shows how two separate legal systems reinforce each other to criminalise immigrant populations.
Q: According to the lecture, when did the foundation for contemporary U.S. immigration discourse emerge, and why does this matter?
A: The foundation was laid in the mid-1990s, not after 9/11. This matters because it challenges the common assumption that post-9/11 security concerns drove the shift. The trends of nativism and immigration restriction were already in motion before the September 11 attacks.
Q: What are the three phases of U.S. immigration politics described in the lecture?
A: Early 20th-century nativism (driven by economic competition), the non-discrimination era following the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act (category-based admissions), and the return of nativism from the mid-1990s onward (focused on who counts as "native," welfare reform, and control over women's bodies and reproduction).
Q: What does "borderlism" mean, and how does it relate to economic reality?
A: Borderlism is the idea that border enforcement is a form of political theatre, a performance of control. The narrative claims the border is "out of control," but economically, goods, services, and labour must flow across it. The spectacle of enforcement serves political purposes rather than reflecting actual security needs.
Q: Explain the gendered dynamics of the immigration system as discussed in the lecture.
A: The border enforcement apparatus is hypermasculinised (militarised patrols, detention centres, aggressive policing), while the labour markets that rely on immigrant workers are hyperfeminised (domestic work, care work, agriculture). Capital creates and exploits this division.
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