The Politics of Hostility in Argentina

This chapter analyzes the transformations of migration control policies in the recent Argentine context. The notion of “politics of hostility” is proposed to characterize a specific mode of political intervention based on the spectacularization, expansion, and intensification of migration control. The chapter argues that the main changes are related to the reconfiguration of the control regime of migrant “illegality” that has taken place through specific interventions on detention, deportation, and border rejection. Based on a qualitative methodology that combines participant observation, interviews, and diverse documentary sources, the chapter analyzes different processes, scenes, events, interventions, and conflicts specifically related to detention, deportation, and border rejection. In addition, special attention is given to the emergence of new spatialities and temporalities of migration and border control.