Colourblindness across borders: The de-racialized logics of Dutch and American border agents

This article illustrates how US Border Patrol agents and Dutch Military and Border Police officers explain racialized border control outcomes, through colourblind ideologies. These ideologies—legalism, criminalization and securitization—function as euphemisms that allow border agents to downplay the...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Vega, Irene I (Author) ; van der Woude, Maartje (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2024
In: Theoretical criminology
Year: 2024, Volume: 28, Issue: 3, Pages: 309-327
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Race
Profiling
Ethnicity
colourblind
Borders
Description
Summary:This article illustrates how US Border Patrol agents and Dutch Military and Border Police officers explain racialized border control outcomes, through colourblind ideologies. These ideologies—legalism, criminalization and securitization—function as euphemisms that allow border agents to downplay the importance of immigrants’ race/ethnicity in their decision making and behaviour. Yet, underlying these colourblind ideologies are racialized immigration laws and social constructions that continue to produce group-based inequalities in who is questioned, arrested, detained and removed by border guards. We call for cross-national comparisons of how race/ethnicity is both manifested and concealed in border control. We also suggest the existence of supranational racial frames that protect the status quo in western immigration policies and practices.
ISSN:1461-7439
DOI:10.1177/13624806231209997