Governments in the Global North have developed increasingly elaborate techniques to keep asylum seekers away from territories where they can ask for sanctuary. Many of these policies comply with the letter of domestic and international laws against returning people to face persecution while violating the spirit of those laws to avoid their perceived costs. A medieval landscape of domes, buffers, moats, cages, and barbicans prevents the unwanted from finding refuge. In this lecture, David FitzGerald uncovers how these policies are constrained by courts, transnational advocacy networks, and foreign policies that vary sharply by country. FitzGerald is the Theodore E. Gildred chair in U.S.-Mexican Relations, professor of sociology, and codirector of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California, San Diego.
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