Timothy J. Dunn on Migrant Deaths and the Human Cost of Border Militarization

On this episode, Nathan Goodman interviews sociologist Timothy Dunn on the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and its consequences for human rights. Dunn discusses how U.S. border militarization grew out of the Cold War era “low intensity conflict” doctrine and was expanded by both parties through the 1990s strategy of “prevention through deterrence.” While this policy reduced crossings in urban areas like El Paso and San Diego, it pushed migrants into deserts and mountains, ultimately contributing to thousands of migrant deaths. Dunn explains how U.S. military training and interventions in Central America fueled violence and migration, how financial institutions and drug war policies have perpetuated instability, how political entrepreneurs use crisis narratives to expand coercive power, and how programs like Operation Lone Star model a new wave of militarized enforcement. He calls for more humane immigration reforms grounded in human rights, economic realities, and the everyday resilience of immigrant communities.

Dr. Timothy J. Dunn is a Professor of Sociology at Salisbury University in Maryland. He is the author of Blockading the Border and Human Rights: The El Paso Operation that Remade Immigration Enforcement (University of Texas Press, 2009) and The Militarization of the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1978-1992: Low-Intensity Conflict Doctrine Comes Home (University of Texas Press, 1996).

Show Notes:

• Handbook on Human Security, Borders and Migration (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021) edited by Natalia Ribas-Mateos and Timothy Dunn
• Todd Miller’s book, Empire of Borders: The Expansion of the US Border around the World
• Jason De León’s book, The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail
• Gary Becker’s article, "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach" (Journal of Political Economy, 1968)
• Mexican Migration Project
• MacArthur Fellowship Recipient: Kelly Lytle Hernández
• No More Deaths / No Más Muertes
• Coalición de Derechos Humanos
• Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
• ACLU | Immigrants’ Rights

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