Policing Immigrant Bodies: The construction of immigrant identities in the post 9/11 American imaginary
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, marked a monumental shift in the United States’ approach to foreign and domestic affairs. This watershed event provoked a key historical moment in which Americans were propelled to live in fear of any perceived threat under the guise of “heightened security”.. Employing a “War on Terror” strategy, the Bush administration was successful at channeling the fear and disappointment that Americans felt towards the federal government and 9/11 towards a pre-existing immigration concern (Akers Chacon & Davis, 2006). This research examined the ways in which immigrant bodies are constructed in the post 9/11 American imaginary and the positions of power that immigrant bodies occupy through resistance and subversive acts that challenge the dominant colonial model of power. Using Foucault’s model of biopower, I analyzed the public and legal discourses that have been instrumental in constructing a pseudo immigrant identity vis-à-vis a presumed “authentic” American identity. I conducted the research by examining texts as voices that channel the “truth” and are instrumental in the construction of knowledge pertaining to the Latina/o immigrant body. I found that the underside of biopower is particularly applicable to the immigrant population and is evident through the numerous restrictive policies at both state and sub-state levels that seek to regulate the Latina/o immigrant population in the United States.