History and Government Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2007
Journal Title
CEU Political Science Journal: The Graduate Student Review
Volume
2
Issue
2
First Page
175
Last Page
191
Abstract
This paper examines the issue of how undocumented immigration is framed by comparing case studies of the United Kingdom and the United States. The role of the media and social construction are integral to this debate and this has, in part, led to more domestic bills aimed at tackling undocumented immigration. In the United Kingdom, the issue of undocumented immigration has led to the recent drafting of a bill by Home Secretary John Reid to address the issue. This bill has only served to polarize the population and energize the far-right. In the United States, rival bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate have also attempted to deal with the issue and this too has led to polarization. The debate at the domestic level then is ineffective and other options should be explored at the supranational level. The European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are considerably different, but each can be utilized to adequately settle the issue of undocumented immigration. The US should utilize NAFTA and create an EU-style cohesion fund to stem the flow of undocumented workers and the UK should limit mobility and then lobby the EU to fine countries whose people flood into the country. In sum, this debate has already been framed and the best way forward is to seek an amicable solution through supranational agreements rather than ineffective national public
Recommended Citation
Duerr, Glen. 2007. “Traversing Borders: Supranationalism, Public Policy and the Framing of Undocumented Immigration in the United States and the United Kingdom,” CEU Political Science Journal: The Graduate Student Review, Vol. 2 No.2. pp. 175-191.
