CLA: Global REM

The following resource utilizes articles, images and videos that describe the use of sophisticated technologies to control migration at the border between the United State and Mexico. The goal is to encourage students to understand how technology is not neutral, but functions in complex political and economic contexts, often to foster exclusion of certain racial and ethnic groups.

Introduction
Debates over illegal migration often invoke the use of technology as a solution to control migration and to enhance security. Consequently, increasingly sophisticated and expensive technologies have been developed to monitor the external borders of nation-states. For example, the 2,000 mile border along the United States and Mexico, has become increasingly militarized and monitored through the application of various technologies. However, the sophistication of the technology and the increased danger of illegal border crossings have not deterred migrants from risking their lives in order to get into the United States. An exclusive focus on ‘technological fixes’ to border control ignores the economic realities, partially induced by the North American Free Trade Agreement, that have devastated livelihoods in Mexico and increased pressure to migrate. While border surveillance is designed to attempt to keep some migrants out of the United States, other technologies, such as the NEXUS program at the US and Canada border, are used to facilitate the migration of privileged economic classes. As a result, these technologies effectively separate groups of migrants, and raise significant questions about equity and human rights. Finally, technologies used for migration control are not exclusively focused on the external borders of nation-states. Passports, biometrics, identity cards all enable border control to occur within the boundaries of nation-states. Although technology can be useful, it is important to understand that it does not exist as a neutral device. Technologies of border control are linked to power relations, exclusionary politics and globalizing economic forces.

The following resources focus on how technology is used to control the border of the United States and Mexico, and how migrants respond to changing border management. The first source is an article published by the Christian Science Monitor which provides details on “Project 28", a United States program that attempted to create a virtual fence along 28 miles of the border with Mexico. The second source, an audio file by National Public Radio, describes the results of a new virtual surveillance program in Texas, the Texas Border Watch project, which broadcast live video footage of the border on the internet and requested that the public report suspicious activity. The third source is a PBS video, entitled Mexico: Crimes at the Border, which shows how smugglers and migrants change their border-crossing strategies in response to the increased surveillance and militarization of the border. The final source, a New York Times article, describes how a migrant was shot and killed at the border fence, as well as the reactions to the killing in Mexico.

Sources

Source one
Wood, Daniel. 2008. Arizona's 'Virtual' Wall Gets Reality Check. Christian Science Monitor.
Click here for related photographs.

Source two
National Public Radio. 2007. Texas Tests Cameras Along Mexican Border.

Source three
PBS. Mexico: Crimes at the Border.

Source four
McKinley, James C. Jr. 2006. A Border Killing Inflames Mexican Anger at U.S. Policy. New York Times.

Discussion Questions

(1) What difficulties did ‘Project 28’ encounter, and what are the implications of the outcomes of this project for further utilization of more complex and expensive technologies to control border spaces? What impact does this have on migrants trying to cross the border? How do smugglers in the PBS video circumvent increased use of technology and surveillance?

(2) What are the perspectives on the militarization of the border in Mexico, as described in the New York Times article? How does the militarization of the border reflect broader racial and ethnic tensions?

(3) The US-Mexico border has also become increasingly monitored by vigilante groups, but in the case of the Texas Border Watch project the state called on its citizens to monitor the border on the internet. What are the implications of calling on civilians to monitor the border and how successful was this technology?

Suggested Reading

Sparke, Matthew B. 2006. A neoliberal nexus: Economy, security and the biopolitics of citizenship on the border. Political Geography, 25, no. 2:151-180.

Posted by blum0135 at 10:06 PM | Permalink

This resource uses a map and newspaper articles to provide a broad overview of the contemporary ‘brain drain’ of healthcare workers. Its goal is to further understanding of the general dynamics of contemporary migrations of healthcare workers and to stimulate thinking about the implications of this movement for sending and destination countries, as well as for the migrants themselves.

Introduction

A typical stereotype, that migrants are unskilled and poorly trained, is defied by the significance of the global migration of highly skilled workers, such as doctors and nurses. This is part of a phenomenon popularly called the ‘brain drain,’ which is a term used to designate the emigration of highly skilled individuals, often from a developing to a developed country. Globally, the continued migration of healthcare workers from places where there are critical shortages exacerbates already existing inequalities between world regions and nation-states. For sending states, this migration not only results in the loss of skilled workers, but it is also a lost financial investment. The training of healthcare workers is expensive, and when healthcare workers leave their home country, their training leaves with them. However, like other migrants, many healthcare workers still maintain ties with their home countries by sending financial remittances. Some countries, such as the Philippines, even encourage the migration of healthcare workers, because their remittances are important for the national economy. Another potential, but currently rare, benefit for sending countries results when migrants return with more education and work experience. In the receiving countries, the critical need for healthcare workers does not necessarily mean that these migrants receive superior treatment. Indeed, quite the opposite may be true: studies undertaken in a wide variety of receiving states attest to the racial discrimination experienced by migrant healthcare workers, despite their social location in the labor market. Moreover, migrant healthcare workers have also been subject to different degrees of deskilling (when their skills are not acknowledged and they are given jobs for which they are over-qualified) because educational credentials may not be recognized in receiving states.

The following sources provide a perspective on the global dimensions of the migration of healthcare workers, as well as more specific stories about its impacts on sending and receiving states. The first source is a map, produced by the World Health Organization, which shows countries with and without critical shortages of health service providers. The second source, a story broadcast by National Public Radio, includes pictures and links to an audio clip which describe the impact of critical shortages of healthcare workers in Kenya. Finally, the third source, an article from the BBC, details the experiences of racism faced by migrant nurses in the United Kingdom.

Sources

Source one
World Health Organization. 2006. Countries with a critical shortage of health service providers (doctors, nurses and midwives).

Source two
Wilson, Brenda. 2005. Developing Countries See Health Care 'Brain Drain'. Morning Edition, National Public Radio.

Source three
BBC NEWS. 2003. UK 'racist' to overseas nurses.

Discussion Questions

(1) The map reveals that Africa suffers the most from critical shortages of health service providers. How is Kenya trying to combat the impacts of ‘brain drain’? What are the implications of this strategy? What are other possible reasons, besides migration, that may account for the shortage of healthcare workers?

(2) The map is based on data collected at the scale of the nation-state. What are the implications of focusing on the nation-state as the primary unit of analysis? What does this focus obscure (for example, differences between rural and urban areas as highlighted in the NPR article)?

(3) Consider the voices of the health service workers and how they are represented in the two articles. While nurses may be legally recruited from abroad, they still face exploitation, discrimination, and deskilling. What are the challenges faced by migrating health service workers? Consider racial and gender-related dimensions.

Suggested Readings

Coombes, Rebecca. 2005. Developed world is robbing African countries of health staff. BMJ: British Medical Journal 330, no. 7497:923-923.

Hugo, Graeme. 2007. Population geography. Progress in Human Geography 31, no. 1:77-88.

Pond, Bob, and Barbara McPake. 2006. The health migration crisis: the role of four Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Lancet 367, no. 9520:1448-1455.

Ray, Kristin M., B. L. Lowell, and Sarah Spencer. 2006. International Health Worker Mobility: Causes, Consequences, and Best Practices. International Migration 44, no. 2:181-203.

Posted by blum0135 at 4:33 PM | Permalink