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The Securitization of Migration: A Racial Discourse 1
Author(s) -
Ibrahim Maggie
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international migration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1468-2435
pISSN - 0020-7985
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2435.2005.00345.x
Subject(s) - securitization , immigration , globe , legislation , government (linguistics) , racism , irregular migration , political science , human security , sociology , political economy , economy , law , economics , ethnology , finance , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , ophthalmology
As we enter the informational economy, freedom of human mobility has nearly disappeared. Instead, powerful words are travelling the globe unhindered: risk and security. They are being strung together with the present “migration phenomena”, leaving migrants bound by the chain of the new security discourse: the securitization of migration. This discourse is racism's most modern form. Discursive practices, as seen through the press portrayal of 599 migrants reaching Canada's western coast, have transformed migrants into agents which threaten “human security” How discourse informs government policy is illustrated through an examination of Canada's new immigration legislation.