Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Combining historical and ethnographic approaches, this thesis explores the relationship between marginality and the Canadian state's organization of national belonging through the technologies of immigration, settlement and citizenship. In the process it reveals how the lives of people who navigate this institution of becoming Canadian from or into marginalized social positions are shaped in complex ways by the relations of ruling underpinning the nation as a whole, such as colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy. Data-gathering and analysis proceeded from the standpoint of people whose religion, sexuality, "race", gender, or class positioned them in the margins of a textually mediated and hierarchical policy matrix that justified either their outright exclusion or else inclusion on certain conditions. The impact of this arrangement is queried and we find that, while the fact of being Canadian often leads to improvement in life quality, this is in addition to—or even in spite of—the institutional process of becoming Canadian. The institutional process, by contrast, was found to cause things like downgrading, separation, fear, and changed beliefs and behaviours. The study also examined how people deal with this system, including the purposeful acquisition of knowledge or skills, and reliance on support networks among family, friends, and fellow migrants. Finally, some strategies of mitigation (e.g. rule-breaking) are explored. The study concludes by contrasting the institution of becoming Canadian against a universalist philosophy premised on "global citizenship" and the possibility of a world without borders. Unsurprisingly, there is considerable distance between them, but this contrast reveals inspiring areas for resistance, action and change.

Combining historical and ethnographic approaches, this thesis explores the relationship between marginality and the Canadian state's organization of national belonging through the technologies of immigration, settlement and citizenship. In the process it reveals how the lives of people who navigate this institution of becoming Canadian from or into marginalized social positions are shaped in complex ways by the relations of ruling underpinning the nation as a whole, such as colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy. Data-gathering and analysis proceeded from the standpoint of people whose religion, sexuality, "race", gender, or class positioned them in the margins of a textually mediated and hierarchical policy matrix that justified either their outright exclusion or else inclusion on certain conditions. The impact of this arrangement is queried and we find that, while the fact of being Canadian often leads to improvement in life quality, this is in addition to—or even in spite of—the institutional process of becoming Canadian. The institutional process, by contrast, was found to cause things like downgrading, separation, fear, and changed beliefs and behaviours. The study also examined how people deal with this system, including the purposeful acquisition of knowledge or skills, and reliance on support networks among family, friends, and fellow migrants. Finally, some strategies of mitigation (e.g. rule-breaking) are explored. The study concludes by contrasting the institution of becoming Canadian against a universalist philosophy premised on "global citizenship" and the possibility of a world without borders. Unsurprisingly, there is considerable distance between them, but this contrast reveals inspiring areas for resistance, action and change.

That refugeeness is a socially constructed subjectivity produced by immigration and refugee policy is the main argument of this thesis. Departing from the functionalist approach characterizing previous work on migrants, refugees in this study are defined as developing a particular migrant subjectivity, characterized by uprootedness and the crossing of borders. As well, this study argues that refugeeness is an addition to the general refugee experience. Immigration and refugee policy at the international and Canadian levels is defined as the main discourse in the production of refugeeness . How this state intersects with individual refugees' lives is the focus of this study which seeks to analyze the impact of immigration and refugee policy on refugee claimants in Canada. Deconstruction of immigration and refugee policy discourse provides core elements in understanding the construction of the refugee as an object defined by international law. Further, it is shown that increasingly restrictive policies, arising out of western nations' concerns over sovereignty of their borders have had an impact on the migratory trajectory of refugee claimants and on their pre-refugee subjectivities. It is argued that the process constituting the refugee claimant subjectivity is one of otherization where refugees are dispossessed of their pre-migratory subjectivity, creating a profound rupture with their past and present subjectivities. A qualitative approach is used to determine the subjective experience of claimants in Canada as it relates to three major areas of their lives: work, family and state which constitute the core areas of study in the construction of the refugee claimant subjectivity, as conceptualized by a materialist theoretical model. Conclusions raise issues for policy practices and social work practice.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 (9/11) in the United States (U.S.) the U.S. and Canada both restructured the institutions responsible for the management of the U.S.-Canada border. The United States created Customs and Border Protection (U.S. CBP) under the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 and Canada established the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) under the Ministry of Public Safety in 2003. Prior to these reforms, in both the U.S. and Canada, the border was under the jurisdiction of multiple government agencies and departments, including those associated with immigration, customs and policing. This thesis utilizes the concept of path dependency and the organizational behavior model to examine the post-9/11 institutional changes and the extent to which they impacted the management of the U.S.-Canada border after 9/11.

This paper looks at the topic of immigration from a philosophical standpoint and concludes that an open border policy is morally obligatory. I first argue that immigration cannot act as a corrective to the problems of global poverty as many philosophers have suggested. I then look at two common defenses for restrictive borders, one resting on the cultural community and one on the political community, and conclude that these two defenses are inadequate. The fact that a restrictive policy is morally unjustifiable coupled with my argument that people ought to be able to enjoy a freedom of movement suggests that an open border policy is necessary.

No description available.

This thesis examines immigration’s political effects in Europe over the past several decades. In many countries, immigrants are not integrating well. One result is the growing political strength of nationalist right-wing parties. Tensions have risen between those immigrants who refuse to adopt European values and European natives who consider their identity to be at risk. European governments have essentially two methods by which to control the impact of immigration —they can limit the number of legal immigrants and/or they can insist on integration. This thesis makes the case that integration is key to preventing further political strife over immigration policies in Europe. By examining the performance of immigrant integration policies across twelve European countries, we identify shortfalls and argue on behalf of the need for a standard European Union approach to measure integration performance.

The purpose of this study is to investigate, through narrative analysis, the arrival stories of Latino/a immigrants into the Canadian school system, and to examine how their migration experience influences their identification process. The data to be analysed was collected during interviews conducted for the Proyecto Latin@ project; a research that looks into the perspectives of Latino/a youth towards school desertion and their experiences as Latino/a students in Canada. Interviews analysed included students with recent arrival dates into Canada ( < 3 years at the time of interviews). Their narratives displayed a shift in ideology as students internalized the dominant discourse and present a conundrum for students struggling in school. This analysis attempts to add to the growing body of knowledge on the specific difficulties faced by the Latino/a youth upon their arrival into Canada, as well as how their identities develop and shift during this process.

The purpose of this study is to investigate, through narrative analysis, the arrival stories of Latino/a immigrants into the Canadian school system, and to examine how their migration experience influences their identification process. The data to be analysed was collected during interviews conducted for the Proyecto Latin@ project; a research that looks into the perspectives of Latino/a youth towards school desertion and their experiences as Latino/a students in Canada. Interviews analysed included students with recent arrival dates into Canada ( < 3 years at the time of interviews). Their narratives displayed a shift in ideology as students internalized the dominant discourse and present a conundrum for students struggling in school. This analysis attempts to add to the growing body of knowledge on the specific difficulties faced by the Latino/a youth upon their arrival into Canada, as well as how their identities develop and shift during this process.