The "politics of hostility" in Argentina: detention, expulsion and border rejection

DOMENECH, EDUARDO

Estudios Fronterizos

Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

Año: 2020 vol. 21 p. 1 - 25

This article aims to analyze the transformations produced in the field of migration control policies in the recent Argentine context. The notion of ?politics of hostility? is proposed to characterize a specific mode of political intervention based on the spectacularization, expansion and intensification of migration control. It is argued that the main changes are related to the reconfiguration of the control regime of migrant ?illegality? that has taken place through specific interventions on detention, expulsion and border rejection. Based on a qualitative methodology that articulates participant observation, interviews, and diverse documentary sources, different processes, scenes, events, interventions, and conflicts specifically related to detention, expulsion, and border rejection are analyzed. In addition, special attention is given to the emergence of new spatialities and temporalities of migration and border control.