Between statecraft and management at the US–Mexico border: activism as counter-conduct

Abstract

ABSTRACT At the US–Mexico border, administrative practices routinely ignore the entry claims of stateless people in favor of detention and deportation, often without appeal. The result is both a practical and a moral crisis. Working within a critical interpretive framework, using theories from Michel Foucault and Jürgen Habermas, we explore the tension between facts and norms in the implementation of border policies. We offer activist efforts in support of migrant claims at the border as ‘counter-conduct’ and ‘counter- knowledge’: fundamentally democratic forms of resistance to governmental power. Border activism today is rich with potential guidance for further development of border practices from the grassroots to the legislative chamber.