XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

119

Migration and Perceptions of Racism and Anti-Blackness

RC05 Racism, Nationalism, Indigeneity and Ethnicity (host committee)

Language: French and English

Racially white migrants are labeled as “expats,” while the media and politicians save the racially charged label “immigrant” for those who are nonwhite. Thus, in popular discourse, when the modifier “illegal” is added, only those who are nonwhite come to mind. Today, emigrants from war zones who seek refuge in the West are looked upon with fear and even disdain, as are religious minorities, and travelers with darker skin. US President Trump’s second “Muslim ban” applies only to countries of Africa and the Middle East; Muslims from outside of these regions are not banned. Antiblackness is rampant in the ways immigration law and local policing are practiced - if one is racially black, safe passage even within one’s own neighborhood is not guaranteed. Hate crimes are on the rise, and we regularly see reports of hate waged against people of color perceived to be migrants when they are not. Thus, does race permeate the perceptions about global migrants and the reception they receive? This panel brings together scholars who interrogate the ways race shapes the migrant experience or nonmigrants’ views of the migrant and bring a critical analysis to our understanding of the way the globe is shared or hoarded in the context of international migration.