Sacrificing Women and Immigrants on the Altar of Regressive Politics

Regressive regimes are on the rise, implementing laws and policies designed to have a chilling effect on their opposition. They focus much of their ire on women and immigrants, creating fear-based narratives to justify militarizing the interior, fortifying the border, reducing civil liberties in the name of national security, and, less overtly, perpetuating patriarchal systems of power. Controlling women and immigrants is central to nativist political agendas. The focus on immigrants and women is purposeful, designed to provide the latitude that the Constitution and international law may grant to political leaders allegedly operating within the arenas of sovereign authority and foreign affairs.