Post-9/11 Illegal Immigrant Detention and Deportation: Terrorism and the Criminalization of Immigration

This paper analyzes the changes in immigration policy since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in terms of how immigrants are viewed in the United States. The goal is to address the recent criminalization of immigration in that the perceptions of terrorists and immigrants have become relatively synonymous since 2001. Although deportations have decreased, immigrant detention has increased significantly. Detention centers pose threats to the basic human rights of the immigrants residing in them, as well as perpetuate the culture of fear enveloping recent immigrants, whether they are legally or illegally in the country, and native United States citizens alike. Being that globalization encourages the blurring of borders and the movement of people across them, it plays a crucial role in the discussion of immigration and the treatment of immigrants in the United States. Globalization has the power to spread and influence public opinion more quickly than ever before in history, which houses potential for both the circulation of the criminalization of immigration and the standardization of the promotion of diversity and human rights. These parallels will be analyzed as they relate to immigration in a post-9/11 globally integrated society