Immigration and Terrorism

Immigration and Terrorism

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Immigration and Terrorism

The book “Terrorism and the Politics of Fear (2006) by Altheide David.

Introduction

The book focuses on the roles played by the media on terrorism and political unrest by the immigrants considered as illegal. Terrorism and the war on Iraq have stirred political turmoil in the American scene concerning terrorism and the Muslim factor. Public acceptance of alleged illegal actions by the US government in the fight against terrorism as well as drastic steps taken to combat terror campaigns, have been widely politicized bringing further interest in the public cycles. The focus of the book is on the political and cultural contexts that have promoted fear of terrorism and crime on the one hand, while also justifying proposed actions to combat crime — and now terrorism. The political outrage was majorly on the visa denial of immigrants from the middle-east. Propaganda and news management characterized a discourse of fear and symbolic cancellation of the ‘other races’ as criminal and suspected terrorists. In the process criminal conduct has been considered either as off-course or heroic.

Background and History of Immigration

Voluntary migrants are defined as those who move to foreign countries, usually abroad, in search of employment, study, family reunification, or other personal reasons. On the other hand, forced migrants leave their countries unwillingly to flee from forceful persecution, conflict and war, oppression, disasters, either natural or human-made, environmental degradation, or other situations that endanger their lives, freedom or livelihood. (IOM: United Nations 2000). Presently, 10% of the total American population is composed of immigrants who enter America through different visa programs.

For hundreds of years, America has been perceived as a refuge for millions of immigrants from different parts of the world...