Beyond Borders: Revisiting the Concept of “Frontier” in the Age of Global Terrorism

Parallel to the traditional American immigration narrative runs another historical and political reality of the immigrant in the United States. While the semantics of American immigration has been extremely beneficial to the U.S., the political and legislative apparatus—often with the support of the American public—has never ceased to limit and restrict access to migrants in a country that has nevertheless been described as a “nation of immigrants”.The restrictionist discourse—whether it creates a Manichean dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ migrants or suggests an identity and cultural gap—relies today on a composite approach that mixes neo‑nativist ideas and national security arguments. As exemplified by statements made by Donald Trump, immigrants are sometimes characterized, without nuance or distinction, as potential criminals and terrorists.Building on the concept of “frontier”, the aim of this paper is to refocus the issue of immigration in a more international perspective. Indeed, the current immigration debate in the U.S. draws the contours of a “security frontier”, material and physical (border fence and border security) as well as political and symbolic (soft power, diplomacy). The distinctive feature of this “frontier” lies in its necessarily international dimension.The U.S. is therefore faced with a major challenge: while the Congress and the President are pressured to ensure the security of the country, discriminatory measures and stigmatizing remarks against immigrants proliferate in the country, which undermines and weakens the position of the U.S. on the “security frontier”.