The Irregular Immigrant: Victim or Threat? A Comparative Case Study of US and EU Border Management

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2017-08-15
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en
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Both the borders of the European Union as well as the United States have been focal points of discussion since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of the differences between border management in the United States as opposed to the European Union. Special attention is given to the American border management agency US Central Border Patrol that is a part of the US Department of Homeland Security and European border management agency FRONTEX. By reviewing existing literature on securitization theory, United States border management, and European border management this research has come to the conclusion that the institutions are securitizing migration. The US does this to a larger extent than the EU. Both the EU and the US have militarized their borders and the US has done this to a larger extent than the EU. The United States mostly uses a paradigm of threat to legitimize themselves while FRONTEX uses a paradigm of humanitarianism but the American border agencies DHS and US CBP as well as European border agency FRONTEX are securitizing migration.
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