The securitisation of immigration through the Tactical Terrorism Response Team

ABSTRACT

This article considers a significant stage in the convergence of US counterterrorism policy and immigration enforcement exemplified by the emergence of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) unit known as the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT). In my analysis I show: (i) that TTRT agents engage in a process I call social homicide which subjects travellers to a condition of bare life; (ii) that the increasing production of border violence highlights that the convergence of securitisation and immigration enforcement is a praxis of anti-Blackness and Islamophobia; (iii) that securitisation and exclusionary immigration policy have made use of invisibility to create and expand a permanent state of exception; and (iv) that border enforcement through securitisation is used as a mechanism for the surveillance and control of social movements inside the United States. Given the limited public information on TTRT’s operations, this study explores the matter through a case study of Abdikadir Mohamed’s 2017 encounter with the unit, his subsequent immigration proceedings, and the FOIA lawsuit filed against CBP for more information on the TTRT.

KEYWORDS:

• Tactical Terrorism Response Team
• immigration
• counterterrorism
• securitisation
• border enforcement
• Customs and Border Protection

Acknowledgements

I owe many thanks to Monica Varsanyi, David Brotherton, Van Tran, Lynn Chancer, Nicholas Rodrigo, and the anonymous reviewers for their extensive feedback. This piece would not have been written were it not for Ibrahim Bechrouri, who insisted I do so, and Tarek Ismail, who supported me through the difficult data collection stage of this study. I am especially grateful to Ramzi Kassem, for reading through many versions of this article, fact checking the complex legal nuances, and reaffirming the value of this work.

I am deeply honoured to have worked with the many organisers, students, and legal experts on this case. Thank you all for trusting me to be part of your team. Lastly, and most importantly, I’d like to acknowledge how much we all owe to Abdikadir and his incredible family. It is because of their tenacity and resilience in challenging the violence of this unit that these issues were brought to light.

Ethics approval

The Instritutional Review Board (IRB) of the CUNY Graduate Center approved this study in May 2021. All persons interviewed for this study have given consent to have their names included in the publication of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Darializa Avila Chevalier

Darializa Avila Chevalier is a PhD Student at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She holds a BA from Columbia University. Her PhD project examines the intersections of race, migration, law enforcement, and national security policy.