The Discourse of Controlling “Illegal Immigration” in Irish Parliamentary Texts

Abstract

“Illegal immigration” occurs at a quite small scale in the Irish context, especially when compared to other European countries. Nevertheless, there is a significant level of discussion about “illegal immigration” in the Irish Parliament. Through the conceptual frameworks of Foucauldian thought and Critical Discourse Analysis, this paper undertakes a Topoi Analysis to examine discursive representations from the Irish Parliament (2002–2009). It concentrates upon the most common argumentation forwarded by parliamentarians – the need to control “illegal immigration” in Ireland. This argumentation is expressed through various discourses. Notably, these discourses are juxtaposed with positive representations of the “undocumented Irish” in the U.S. Overall, it is argued that negative control discourses about “illegal immigrants” in Ireland provide a number of functions: (i) the legitimization and continuation of the nation-state rationale of governance, (ii) the provision of a forum for implicit expressions of racism, and (iii) the acceptance of “justified” practices of exclusion of unwanted non-EU migrants.

Xenophobia towards asylum seekers: A survey of social theories

“…Extensive work has been undertaken, for instance, regarding the false beliefs that underpin asylum seeker discourses around the Western world. This scholarship has highlighted a range of government and media ‘lies’, including the notions (a) that asylum seekers have broken the law by entering the country without prior authorisation, even though seeking asylum is legal under international law (Burroughs, 2015; McAdam and Chong, 2014; Ogan et al, 2018); (b) that asylum seekers are economic migrants not ‘genuine’ refugees in need of protection, even though most arrivals go on to receive refugee status (Burroughs, 2015; Every and Augoustinos, 2007; McHugh-Dillon, 2015); and (c) that asylum seekers are dangerous individuals with terrorist affiliations, even though most forced migrants are themselves fleeing situations of violence and terror, and few asylum seekers have been convicted of terrorist offences (Briskman, 2015; Green, 2003; Klocker and Dunn, 2003: 71; McKay et al, 2011; Ogan et al, 2018; Pedersen and Hartley, 2015: 13). In foregrounding and attempting to correct these false beliefs, scholars have sought to influence public sentiment and delegitimise the punitive policies that these claims justify.…”

“…Outgroup prejudice may be triggered by perceptions of scarcity, regardless of whether those perceptions are true (Sanchez-Mazas and Licata, 2015: 805). In this context, discursive narratives that frame asylum seekers as (for example) ‘economic migrants’ take on added significance (Burroughs, 2015; Every and Augoustinos, 2007; McHugh-Dillon, 2015). Discourses that frame asylum seekers as competitors for scarce resources may activate evolved triggers for outgroup hostility.…”

Anàlisi crítica dels topoi en el discurs polític: la representació de l’estructura de l’Estat a les Corts Valencianes

“…Aquest tipus d'anàlisi pretén identificar esquemes d'argumentació discursiva i esquemes de pensament que es troben en un discurs, ja que inclouen referències de «sentit comú», les quals determinen i construeixen la coherència dels arguments d'un discurs (Carbonell, 2012: 36) i pertanyen al coneixement col·lectiu que comparteix un grup de persones dintre d'una mateixa societat i cultura. Apel·lant al coneixement comú de les persones, els topoi afavoreixen la difusió de la ideologia que vol transmetre l'orador, considerada la dominant en el grup (Burroughs, 2015).…”