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20 Nw. J. L. & Soc. Pol'y 1 (2024)

handle is hein.journals/nwjlsopo20 and id is 1 raw text is: Copyright 2024 by April Guevara Espinoza Volume 20 (Fall 2024) Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy Humanizing The Mexican Migrant April Guevara Espinoza* ABSTRACT Given the past election season and craze about the immigration crisis, it is of paramount importance to reflect on how andwhy migrants, particularly Mexican migrants, are positioned as less than in our society. Immigration is more than a politicalplatform issue; it concerns realpeople whose real lives are affected. Mexican migrants are used as political scapegoats for any and all issues in the United States whether it be increased crime rates, a lack of available jobs, or overall poor economic conditions. They are dangerously mischaracterized and stereotyped as criminals and national security threats. These labels are inextricably tied to racism and xenophobia, yet are cited as a rationale for restrictive, militarized, and criminalized immigration policies. This rhetoric perpetuated by our laws, leaders, and media serves to create a narrative about migrants and immigration that is entirely detachedfrom humanity, divorcing the individualfrom society, and labeling them as other. Citizenship status should not be determinative of which civil and human rights are afforded to human beings. As a society, we must demand an interrogation of the relationship between racism, nationalism, and xenophobia, accompanied by a reckoning of the United States' white supremacist roots, to alter the way we view and speak about all migrants, to demilitarize the border, and to decriminalize immigration policy. This Paper serves as a detailed account of the subjugation and subordination of Mexican migrants throughout history to argue Mexican migrants will never be humanized until white supremacy is confronted because white supremacy is ever- present in our laws, lives, and language. Most importantly, this Paper is a reminder to treat migrants as they are human. Keywords: migrant, Mexico, Mexican migrant, immigration, human rights, Arizona, colonization, immigration policies, southwest, white supremacy, border, U.S.-Mexico border, crimmigration * J.D. Candidate 2025, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Thank you to my colleagues on the Journal of Law & Social Policy for their thoughtful editing of a piece that was deeply important and personal to research and write. Most importantly, I would like to thank my friends and family for their unwavering support.

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