A Nation of Immigrants and a Nation of Laws: Race, Multiculturalism, and Neoliberal Exception in Barack Obama's Immigration Discourse

Abstract

This article analyzes the Obama administration's policy and policy rhetoric on immigration, showing that it works around and rearticulates neoliberal visions of race/ethnicity, culture, and U.S. identity. Obama's stories of exemplary assimilated immigrants foreground values such as entrepreneurialism, responsibility, and neoliberal multiculturalism. These stories idealize certain forms of subjectivity and regulate the inclusive and exclusive dimensions of citizenship. Through the logic of neoliberal exception, Obama argues that American identity is both open to all who strive for it and also limited to the “right” kinds of immigrants. Critically analyzing President Obama's celebrated immigration rhetoric, particularly in light of his administration's restrictive immigration policies, can contribute to studies of race, citizenship, and immigration in the neoliberal era.