Open Access"Icebox" and the Exceptionality Intrinsic to Institutional Violence on the US-Mexico Border
Author(s) -
Anna Marta Marini
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
reden. revista española de estudios norteamericanos/revista española de estudios norteamericanos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2695-4168
pISSN - 1131-9674
DOI - 10.37536/reden.2020.2.1382
Subject(s) - immigration , dehumanization , immigration detention , normalization (sociology) , political science , criminology , enforcement , ideology , sociology , political economy , law , politics , social science
In 2018, Daniel Sawka directed independent feature length movie Icebox, which narrates the story of a 12-year old Honduran boy whose parents push him to migrate northbound in order to escape forced gang recruitment. Without giving way to ideological bias, Sawka reproduces his journey, providing a useful tool for raising awareness on some of the key matters related to the ongoing debate on US immigration and border policies. The operation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and the detention of Central American children at the US- Mexico border represent a transnational gray area in the extension of sovereign power, turning the border itself in a kenotic space of exception legitimated by the construction of a specific public discourse on immigration and national boundaries. Furthermore, the movie describes the existence of the evident normalization of inhumanity intrinsic to the detention process and praxis, leading to dehumanization of detainees and a suspension—both individual and public—of questioning the tasks performed by border enforcement agencies from an ethical or moral perspective.