Frontiers of Fear: Immigration and Insecurity in the United States

On both sides of the Atlantic, restrictive immigration policies have been framed as security imperatives since the 1990s. This trend accelerated in the aftermath of 9/11 and subsequent terrorist attacks in Europe. In Frontiers of Fear, Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia raises two central questions with profound consequences for national security and immigration policy: First, does the securitization of immigration issues actually contribute to the enhancement of internal security? Second, does the use of counterterrorist measures address such immigration issues as the increasing number of illegal immigrants, the resilience of ethnic tensions, and the emergence of homegrown radicalization? Chebel d'Appollonia questions the main assumptions that inform political agendas in the United States and throughout Europe, analyzing implementation and evaluating the effectiveness of policies in terms of their stated objectives. She argues that the new security-based immigration regime has proven ineffective in achieving its prescribed goals and even aggravated the problems it was supposed to solve: A security/insecurity cycle has been created that results in less security and less democracy. The excesses of securitization have harmed both immigration and counterterrorist policies and seriously damaged the delicate balance between security and respect for civil liberties.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Immigration-Security Nexus Part I. The Framing of Immigration as a Security Issue 1. Newcomers, Old Threats, and Current Concerns 2. Securitization before 9/11 3. Securitization after 9/11 Part II. The Dynamics of Policy Failure 4. Border Escalation as a Policy Failure 5. The Security/Insecurity Spiral 6. Radicalization in the West Part III. Why Do Failed Policies Persist? 7. Emigration, Development, and (In)security 8. Immigration, Economic Interests, and Politics Conclusion: Threats to Western Democracy List of Abbreviations Notes Index

About the Author :
Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia is Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers-Newark: The State University of New Jersey and Senior Researcher affiliated with the Center for Political Research (CEVIPOF), Sciences Po (Paris). She is the author of several books in French, most recently Les Frontieres du Racisme, and coeditor of Managing Ethnic Diversity after 9/11 and Immigration, Integration and Security.

Review :
"The securitization of immigration is hardly a novel topic, but it has never been covered this expansively. From a comprehensive perspective, Chebel D'Appollonia examines this securitization and traces its roots to already existing distrust toward foreigners and the 'other,' which had pushed policy in this direction even before 9/11. The analysis is extended to consider various aspects of policy failure--continuously porous borders, heightened perceptions of insecurity, and radicalization among those of immigrant origin-and the politics explaining why such failures have not yielded to other policy options."-Choice (February 2013) "With this book, Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia has created a fine synopsis of the dilemmas surrounding immigration and security policies, accentuating the hazards that Western democracy has faced by putting the need for security ahead of rights"-Barbara Franz, Political Science Quarterly (April 2014) "Chebel d'Appollonia's book is a gripping if rather depressing read that brings together, and discusses the relationships between, most of the contemporary subjects of panics that may be 'moral' but in some cases have a basis for justification - asylum-seeking, illegal immigration, Islamophobia, terrorism, etc." -Christopher T. Husbands, Ethnic and Racial Studies (May 2013) "The clear and concise writing, as well as the engaging way the author approaches the subject, makes this book appropriate for a wide audience, including any undergraduate or graduate seminar related to immigration. Other scholars in political science, sociology, and law may very well be interested in this volume. It is critical reading for anyone studying migration in any field. Finally, scholars of both United States and European politics and specifically those interested in the development and implementation of legislation would find this a useful addition to their libraries. In sum, in an age of increasing migration, this book is an important reader in understanding how different countries deal with their immigrant populations and what effect that may have on migrants, the state, and the security of all." -Laura Sellers, AmeriQuests (2014) "Frontiers of Fear tackles issues that are of importance to academics engaged in the study of immigration or security policy, but does so in a way clear and accessible enough to engage students and novice readers as well. The author balances theory with painstaking policy, data, and historical analysis, and brings in a global and comparative perspective that is vital for anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of the factors that drive human migration or shape host society responses to it. Finally, for those who make policy in these areas, and for voters asked to evaluate the effectiveness of those policies, the importance of the questions raised in this book are quite clear." -Jessica Brown, Contemporary Sociology (February 2014) "In Frontiers of Fear, Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia makes an important contribution by linking together what have up to now been largely separate discussions in the West over citizenship and the securitization of migration. She covers aspects of security that often escape notice in studies of migration by international relations scholars and that almost always escape notice in studies of migrant integration by sociologists and comparative political scientists. As Europe and the United States fixate on real and perceived threats to safety and social cohesion, civil liberties and traditions of inclusiveness can seem to suffer. This book illuminates the trade-offs and interconnections at issue-while pointing out how researchers might best go about trying to understand and explain them."-Patrick R. Ireland, Illinois Institute of Technology, author of The Policy Challenge of Ethnic Diversity