Immigration Article of the Day: Force Multiplier: An Intersectional Examination of One Immigrant Woman’s Journey Through Multiple Systems of Oppression by Amelia Wilson
Force Multiplier: An Intersectional Examination of One Immigrant Woman’s Journey Through Multiple Systems of Oppression by Amelia Wilson,
Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice, Vol. 38, No. 1, 2023
The immigrants’ rights movement can assume an intersectional and cooperative approach to dismantling co-constitutive systems of oppression that conspire to punish, exclude, and exploit disfavored groups. Racial justice must be at the center of the movement, but so too must we understand the devastating role that gender, disability, and documentation status play in marginalizing immigrants and their communities. This article examines one immigrant woman’s experiences in the Southeastern United States as she passed through the mental health care system, competency proceedings, criminal justice system, and the deportation pipeline to explicitly lay bare intertwining forms of systemic subjugation.
Mbeti Ndonga is a member of multiple disfavored groups. She is Black, living with serious mental health disabilities, and now undocumented following years as a permanent resident. She experienced an erosion of safety over time that resulted in her being twice detained in the notoriou s Irwin County Detention Center, once deported, and ultimately the victim of unconsented-to, harmful gynecological procedures by a doctor who is now at the center of a major federal investigation. A transversal investigation of her life as she interacted with multiple state and federal agencies reveals patterns of subordination that buttress one another and create a perpetual cycle of suffering. Mbeti’s experiences, while unique to her, are revealing of the injustices faced by the many similarly situated immigrants who share her positioning.
Just as oppression is intersectional, so can be the solution. Immigrant justice, racial justice, gender justice, and health justice share reform priorities that can serve one another. This article proposes four policy recommendations that unite these different movements’ purposes. They range from alterations to our immigration court system that address serious due process deficiencies as applied to persons with mental health disabilities to ending cooperative agreements between ICE and local law enforcement. The recommendations are concrete, achievable, and offer opportunities for enduring change that would benefit the lives of all noncitizens.
KJ