Materiality of migration: examining the impacts of Canada-US border policies in Plattsburgh, New York

Abstract

The Roxham Road unofficial border crossing, located between Quebec and New York State, was an unintended consequence, or “loophole,” of the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), a border policy that prevented migrants from attempting to cross at official land ports of entry and, instead, pushed them to cross at unofficial ports of entry. This thesis explores the impacts of the STCA on migration journeys through the border community of Plattsburgh, New York. I specifically focused on understanding these impacts through an examination of the types of infrastructure and objects associated with migration in this region. Guided by a feminist political geography methodology, I conducted four interviews with local community members and used participant observation methods to construct an understanding of the regional geography. Additionally, drawing from my background in archaeology, I integrated the use of the archaeological concept of materiality to aid in my analysis of how both advocates and migrants interacted with infrastructure, institutions, and objects in the community. This thesis bridges the fields of border studies and archaeology by applying materiality to migration journeys, providing not only a theoretical contribution to these fields, but also an application that furthers our understanding of where and how migrant spaces emerged within the Plattsburgh community, and how artifacts associated with these spaces facilitated relationships between advocates and migrants.