Immigration, nationalism and transnationalism in Argentina : the impact of criminalizing discourses and practices on the Peruvian, Bolivian and Paraguayan immigrants in La Plata City

This thesis aims to contribute to current discussions on citizenship and transnationalism by analyzing the circumstances of Paraguayan, Bolivian and Peruvian immigrants in Argentina. More precisely, I examine the impact that state-promoted criminalizing discourses had on the lives of these immigrants in La Plata city in the late 1990s. On the one hand, their access to public services and resources was importantly constrained, submerging many into increasingly pauperized conditions. On the other hand, new distinctions were created within these nationally defined groups as a result of discursive and residential strategies deployed by many of these immigrants