Blog Post #4

Now that we’ve read Kelly Lytle Hernández’s work, paying attention to methodologies, arguments, and narrative, write a post that assesses her interpretations of the historical formation of the Border Patrol as a US-state institution.

Which perspectives does she tend to highlight? Which might she downplay?

In her work “Migra!”, Kelly Lytle Hernandez provides a comprehensive historical examination of the Border Patrol in the United States. She highlights the intricate relationship between race, labor, and state power in creating and implementing border enforcement policies. Hernandez’s analysis emphasizes the impact of racial ideologies on the establishment and growth of the Border Patrol, specifically focusing on how ideas of race and citizenship have influenced the surveillance, regulation, and removal of groups like Mexican immigrants and communities of color. By unpacking the racialized reasoning behind border enforcement measures, she reveals their ties to larger systems of power and discrimination. While Hernandez’s study does not delve deeply into the economic interests and capitalist expansion driving these policies, recognizing the economic forces behind labor migration and exploitation of immigrant workers could provide additional insights into the historical progression and continuity of border policing.

How and why does her examination of official Mexican policies to support border policing add to our understanding of the complexities of border development?

Hernandez explores how official Mexican policies supporting border policing contribute a crucial perspective to our comprehension of the intricate nature of border development. By examining Mexico’s cooperation with the United States in managing migration flows and enforcing its borders, she emphasizes the global nature of border enforcement systems and the involvement of various stakeholders in their continuity. This analysis disrupts oversimplified accounts of border control as simply a demonstration of U.S. authority, emphasizing instead the interconnected nature of border systems and the mutual interests that drive them.