Constructing Vulnerability: The Effect of State Migration Policy and Policing on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Author: Deckard, Natalie Delia

Abstract: This article examines the effects of the criminalization of immigration control systems on the prevalence of the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in the United States. This research delineates the relationship between increased carcerality and marginalization. The results confirm existing theory that more intense criminalization is associated with greater marginalization and exploitation of the most vulnerable members of the polity. Controlling for demographic and socio-economic variables prove relevant to CSEC, and models exhibit positive correlations between the variables of interest. I argue that the increase in CSEC rates associated with criminalized immigration policy is a manifestation of changes in exploitation due to an increasingly carceral state. In attempting to exercise control over migrant bodies through state violence, policies that increase criminalization lead to more commodification in precarious communities.

Keywords: immigration policy, criminalization, CSEC, United States