The Border Chronicle – Open Thread: Do you think that border externalization has become a key enforcement strategy for countries in the Global North, particularly the United States and Europe?

During his confirmation hearing in January of 2017, former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security General John Kelly stated, “border security cannot be attempted as an endless series of ‘goal line stands’ on the one-foot line at the ports of entry or along the thousands of miles of border between this country and Mexico . . . I believe the defense of the Southwest border starts 1,500 to the south, with Peru.” This quote is at the heart of the questions we want to discuss today with both you, dear readers, and a panel of international experts who have so graciously agreed to be with us today. (I will introduce them in the next post).

So let’s start with some questions for both readers and the panel. What exactly is border externalization and how is it (especially coming from the United States and Europe) impacting the globe? Are there specific places where we can see it happening and what effect has it had on people? Are there trends with this type of border enforcement that we should be aware of going into the future, especially in this era of mass climate displacement? Is there an industry developing around this and what does this industry look like and where does it come from? And what are the alternatives?

In my next post I will introduce the panel. And after that I will post some housekeeping items.