Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2018
Abstract
In recent years, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have cast themselves into a humanitarian role, presenting themselves as an organization that is ultimately concerned with the wellbeing and safety of undocumented migrants who undertake the dangerous journey of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. However, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are of the opinion that this humanitarianism is hollow given that CBP ultimately enforces prevention through deterrence, a prevention strategy that deters migrants to the dangerous terrain of the Sonoran Desert and is believed to have caused in numerous migrant deaths. In this essay, I explore the contradictions inherent in CBP’s supposed mandate of both protection and policing, exploring how the actions of the organization contradict their presentation as benevolent. I examine the CBP’s public mandate and actions, along with literature regarding the criminalization of humanitarian NGOs and the regulation of migrant bodies through the care the CBP provides. Finally, I argue that CBP’s humanitarianism acts as a moral alibi for migrant deaths due to government policy regarding undocumented migrants, providing the organization an opportunity to divert attention from migrant deaths to the benevolent work of the organization.