Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 3, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2018 | Page 28

Global Security and Intelligence Studies • Volume 3, Number 2 • Fall / Winter 2018 Enemy at the Gates: The Consequential Effects of Securitizing Immigration Marvin L. Astrada, J.D., Ph.D. 1 and Scott B. Astrada, J.D., L.L.M. 2 Abstract Securitization measures were presented as key pillars of Candidate Trump’s campaign, and have informed Executive policymaking since President Trump assumed office. In the wake of the contentious relationship that has been developing between the Executive and the judiciary, the Court’s recent opinion sustaining, in part, the Executive’s immigration policy, and the Court allowing the travel ban to take effect while legal challenges go forward, it is timely to critically examine the nexus between Security, Law, and Policy. In the present context, the Executive has articulated an agenda that explicitly securitizes immigration. The significance of this is that law and policy each cast the immigrant as an existential threat to public safety. The foregoing merits critical examination. We contend that explicitly securitizing immigration law and policy will have substantial political, sociocultural, and legal effects on overall public policy and on the content and character of American identity going forward. Keywords: immigration, security, political identity, law, power, politics Enemigo en las puertas: Los efectos consecuentes de la securitizatión de la inmigración Resumen Las medidas de securitización se presentaron como pilares clave de la campaña del candidato Trump y han informado al Ejecutivo desde el momento en que el presidente Trump asumió el cargo. A raíz 1 New York University-Washington DC, 1307 L Street NW, Washington DC 20005, [email protected]. 2 Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, [email protected]. 25 doi: 10.18278/gsis.3.2.3