Universidad San Francisco de Quito

Student: Abigail Carrillo

Date: March 5, 2002

Code:00207067

Teacher: Cecilia Isabel Conde López

Theme: Immigration conflict in the borders of the U.S.A.

According to the 2020 census in the United States, 13.7% of the population is made up of
immigrants as opposed to 4.8% in 1970. Nowadays, the US is the country with the most
immigrants in the world. People migrate for various reasons, including socio-political problems,
persecution, and poverty. Most of them seek an upgrade in their lifestyle and a better future for
their families. The topic of migration has become mainstream and prevails as one of the main
political issues in the country because of the repercussions many people believe it has had for the
country and its citizens. High rates of migration have created polarization in the US.

The constant flow of immigrants to the borders of the United States of America has
produced tension in its frontiers. The U.S. government has been forced to apply strong
containment measures that have caused polarization between pro-immigration and against-
immigration organizations. The conflict previously mentioned is derived from the opposition of
the parties' interests and the incapability to satisfy both desires. Pro-immigration organizations
demand the fulfillment of immigrants' rights and duties. This is to preserve the equality of
conditions between the two parties. On the other hand, the against-immigration organizations
seek to conserve and assign all the resources to the residents of the U.S. instead of giving them to
foreigners.

The pro-immigration and against-immigration organizations' partial perception of the

context has escalated the conflict, later creating an action-reaction dynamic. The action-reaction
dynamic is described in the ¨ conflict spiral model¨ as defensive reactions derived from previous
miss-perceptions of the opposite part and vice versa (Pruitt, D. G., and Rubin, J. Z., 1968). For
example, The U.S. government, during the decades, has looked at immigrants’ mobilization as a
possible social-economic destabilization and ignored the potential the immigrants represent for
the country´s development. Later, this translated into contentious tactics that ignored the well-
being of the opposing parties, the immigrants.

During the past decades, Venezuela has suffered a big immigration crisis where the
country has lost the 20% of its population, which has moved to other countries. The United
States has received the 8% of Venezuelan immigrants that have left this country (Cardozo. R,
2022). But the increase in immigrants' mobilizations to the border changed Americans´
perception of immigrants, taking them as a threat. The last mentioned has pushed the U.S.
government to create new immigration procedures. These consist in sending the immigrants to
detention centers and sending them to their native countries. Rivera. S. of The Angeles Times
affirms, that many pro-migration activists have reported the precarious conditions of those
establishments where the immigrants are retained and suffer physical and psychological injuries
(Rivera.S.,2022).

Miss perception is usually derived from the lack of communication between the parties,
which could be avoided with an efficient dialogue between parties. Third parties could ease these
processes by contributing with external opinions that bring the parties closer to a consensus and
de-escalate the conflict, especially in long-term problems. Bercovitch, J. mentioned that third
parties could be groups or individuals, and their participation can be spontaneous or planned by
the parties. For example, Welcomed U.S. is an organization that arose spontaneously due to the
need of certain nations to seek shelter in the U.S. They find sponsorships, from pro-immigrant
groups, that are willing to support them financially to immigrant people. At first, they work with
Ukraine and Afghanistan refugees, and now with Venezuelan immigrants. They have offered to
help at least 24.000 Venezuelan people and push the government to extend this deadline.

For international mediation, the formulation strategy organizes is the best option. This
strategy helps to organize the context, creates mediation protocol, measures the time, and keeps
parties focused during the mediation process. For example, Welcome U.S. organizes the context
by giving an exact amount of people, 24,000 Venezuelan immigrants, the opportunity to live in
the USA if they meet the requirements. These discard the other applicants and send them back to
their countries. The Welcome U.S. protocol reduces tension at the borders by the parties. It is
relevant to mention that it is a transnational group that should ensure equal perception, parties'
relationship quality, and the party's satisfaction.
 In conclusion , immigration has caused division in the United States. There are people
that are genuinely concerned about some negative consequences that immigration could bring,
while others have more extreme ideologies that see some immigrants as unworthy of being in
their country. On the other hand, people that are more liberal support immigration. They
welcome immigrants, want their development, and protect their rights. This conflict has become
stronger at the borders, where the U.S. government has applied contentious tactics, that escalate
the conflict. Nevertheless, mediation, through communication and contact, has mitigated some of
these effects. The main key was the use of the formulation strategy that helped to organize the
context and create a protocol, that tried to satisfy most of the parties’ needs.

Bibliography:

Bercovitch, J., (1997). Mediation in International Conflict: An Overview of Theory, A Review of

Practice. En: William Zartman, I & Lewis Rasmussen, J. Peacemaking (Eds),
International Conflict: Methods and Techniques (pp 125-154). Washington DC: United
States Institute of Peace Press.

Cardozo.R.2022. EE. UU. y su nueva política hacia los migrantes venezolanos. Made for minds.
Recovered from: https://www.dw.com/es/ee-uu-y-su-nueva-pol%C3%ADtica-hacia-los-
migrantes-venezolanos/a-63481770#:~:text=El%20Gobierno%20estadounidense
%20anunci%C3%B3%20el,suroeste%20de%20los%20Estados%20Unidos.

Farré Salvá, S. (2004). Gestión de conflictos: taller de mediación. Un enfoque socioafectivo,

Barcelona: Editorial Ariel (pp.34-55).

PRUITT, D. G., & RUBIN, J. Z. (1986). SOCIAL CONFLICT: ESCALATION,

STALEMATE, AND SETTLEMENT.NEW YORK: RANDOM HOUSE

Rivera.S.2022. Políticas están enviando a la cárcel a los que piden asilo. Los Ángeles Times.
Recovered from:
https://www.latimes.com/espanol/california/articulo/2022-05-20/politicas-estan-
enviando-a-la-carcel-a-los-que-piden-asilo-arriba-de-los-tres-meses

https://welcome.us/