Gina Weissgarber
Utah Valley State College
Subject Listing - English
Advisor: Dr. Ryan Simmons
Friday, Oral Session 5, Presentation 2, Owen Hall 250
ALIENS IN AMERICA: IMMIGRATION, SOLIDARITY, AND FEAR IN THE AGE OF TERRORISM
While Hispanic immigrants have not always received a glad welcome into the United States, they have often managed to establish themselves and retain their culture in relative peace, until the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This paper will explore the effects of terrorism on Hispanic immigrants both living within the United States and attempting to enter the country, focusing especially on the effects of public rhetoric on immigrants' material realities.
The media and our country's leaders have said many times that the terrorist attacks changed everything, and immigration is no exception. From standardizing driver's licenses with the Real ID Act to rumors that a Koran has been found in the desert near the US-Mexico border, attempts to find a relationship between Hispanic immigrants and terrorism have been constant since 9-11, at great cost to the communities of Hispanics living within the United States. I will argue that Americans' post-9-11 discourse has created a united front against terrorism in the homeland, and a consequence of that effort is both political and social alienation of immigrant groups, uniting many Americans, including naturalized US citizens and descendants of immigrants, against them with the rationale of fear.
To support my thesis, I will examine the discourse surrounding immigration in the European Union, where thousands of Muslims have migrated in recent years. The conflict between Muslim values and liberal European values has left many disillusioned and living on the outskirts of society, similar to the situation thousands of Hispanics are confronted with daily in America, where they live in isolated communities; and these similarities are reflected in the rhetoric surrounding immigration and terrorism. The similarities also predict a likelihood of ethnic violence in the US, with the possible outcome being rioting on US soil as in Europe, leaving Americans more afraid than if al-Qaida had actually begun recruiting within the Hispanic community.
Advisor: Dr. Ryan Simmons, Assistant Professor, English and Literature, Utah Valley State College, Orem, UT