Images of Illegalized Immigration: Towards a Critical Iconology of Politics - Softcover

"While a great deal of work has been produced on illegal immigration, this publication focuses on two important and original dimensions. Imagery of immigrants structures public perceptions and political debates through its symbolic and material dimensions. Secondly, it is important to deconstruct the illegalising visual process generated by sterotypes." -- Saffia Elisa Shaukat, Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 1-2 (2012)

Illegalised immigration is a highly iconic topic. The public perception of the current regime for mobility is profoundly shaped by visual and verbal images. As the issue of illegalised immigration is gaining increasing political momentum, the authors feel it is a well-warranted undertaking to analyse the role of images in the creation of illegalisation. Their aim is to trace the visual processes that produce these very categories. The authors aim to map out an iconography of illegalised immigration in relation to political, ethical, and aesthetic discourses. They discuss the need to project new images as well as the dangers of giving persons without legal papers an individual face. Illegalisation is produced by law, but naturalised through the everyday use of images. The production of law, on the other hand, is also driven by both mental and materialised images. A critical iconology may help us to see these mechanisms.