Date of Award
12-2024
Document Type
Campus Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Public Policy
First Advisor
Mark Warren
Second Advisor
Randy Albelda
Third Advisor
Cinzia Solari
Abstract
Over the past several decades, U.S. asylum and immigration policies have been increasingly racialized and criminalized (Zepeda-Millán 2017; Ngai 2017). Asylum seekers are now framed as security threats or frauds making baseless claims (FitzGerald 2019), leading to punitive approaches that replace humanitarian ideals with mechanisms to control “undesirable” populations (Agier 2011). This punitive shift is exemplified through the Alternative to Detention (ATD) program, the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). After being released from detention, migrants may find themselves subjected to further surveillance in ATD programs like ISAP, which enforce stringent compliance protocols, including curfews, ankle monitors, frequent check-ins with ICE, and home visits. While positioned as humane and non-punitive “alternatives” to detention, ISAP exerts significant control over participants' daily lives, impacting their autonomy and socio-emotional wellbeing. This qualitative study examines the experiences of Guatemalan asylum seekers enrolled in ISAP. Guided by a theoretical framework of crimmigration, governmentality, and neoliberalism, this study examines how ISAP’s surveillance measures and compliance protocols affect participants’ daily lives. The primary research questions guiding this study are: (1) How do asylum seekers from Guatemala experience ISAP? (2) In what ways does compliance impact their everyday lives? and (3) How are these experiences gendered? Conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, this research draws on 26 in-depth interviews and extensive participant observations conducted over two years with Guatemalan asylum seekers residing in the Greater Boston area. Findings reveal that, for asylum seekers in ISAP, compliance measures impose physical constraints and profound psychological burdens that deepen their marginalization and sense of criminalization. ISAP’s surveillance protocols create a climate of constant vigilance, where participants feel they must monitor their every move to avoid potential punishment for any perceived misstep. For women balancing caregiving duties, the demands of compliance are especially challenging; competing responsibilities increase their risk of being labeled noncompliant, reinforcing gendered vulnerabilities within the program. Additionally, findings show the myriad ways ISAP’s restrictions deepen economic precarity: limited access to stable employment forces many into exploitative, informal work, where they face heightened risks of coercion and abuse. Findings also reveal how the COVID-19 pandemic intensified economic hardship, increased housing insecurity, and excluded asylum seekers from federal relief programs, further pushing them into precarity. Together, these findings demonstrate how ISAP functions as a mechanism of social control within a neoliberal framework, reinforcing the economic precarity and social exclusion of asylum seekers. This reflects broader trends in immigration policy, where ostensibly administrative measures produce punishing effects that reinforce the precarity and marginalization of all migrants, including asylum seekers. These findings underscore the need for policymakers to critically evaluate the “humane” nature of ATD programs like ISAP, which impose considerable emotional and psychological burdens on participants, particularly women. This tension between the purported humane nature of ATD and the harsh realities of surveillance raises critical questions about the true impact of these programs. By integrating the voices and experiences of asylum seekers into the development of humane immigration policies, stakeholders can work towards more equitable and supportive frameworks that prioritize the dignity and rights of all migrants.
Recommended Citation
Ortiz-Wythe, Bianca, "Tracked and Controlled: Examining the Criminalization of Asylum Seekers from Guatemala in Alternative to Detention" (2024). Graduate Doctoral Dissertations. 1031.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations/1031
Additional and Related Files
Dissertation Signature Page- Bianca Ortiz-Wythe.pdf (196 kB)CertificateOfCompletion (3).pdf (124 kB)
Comments
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