OSU Class of 2020 graduate Sydney Warinner used her final semester at OSU to write an impactful undergraduate thesis, Disability Protections for Central American Migrants in Detention. The thesis focuses on migration flows from Central America to the United States, immigration law and reception, and disability rights. “Through my Spanish coursework and membership in Ohio State’s chapter of International Justice Mission (IJM), I have had the opportunity to study historical, social, political, and economic contexts surrounding migration, as well as the violence and human rights violations that occur during this process,” Sydney explains. Her interest in immigration has also been inspired by her volunteer work at a pro bono immigration legal clinic. It was there that she had the opportunity to work with migrant families and develop a deeper understanding of the immigration process.
In addition to her interest in immigration, Sydney has always been a passionate advocate for disability rights due to her own identification with the disability community. She read an article published by Vox last summer that suggested disability rights organizations could make a profound impact in activist efforts surrounding the inhumane treatment of immigrants in detention centers. The article laid the groundwork for her undergraduate thesis.
At the core of her thesis, Sydney argues that, “the effects of systemic violence during transnational migration qualify Central American migrants under disability health protections upon entry into the U.S., which deems federal disability applicable to ICE detention centers. ICE’s deterrence strategies violate federal disability discrimination and due process law, which provides disability rights organizations with legal justifications to file a lawsuit against ICE to push for immediate release of disabled detained immigrants.”
Sydney supports her arguments by using migrant testimony from Óscar Martínez’s The Beast (2013) and A History of Violence (2016). “The testimonies in Martínez’s books are deeply impactful for the ways in which they showcase the holistic migration process from personalized perspectives,” she explains. “They go beyond describing the general origins, destinations, and pathways of migration by humanizing each individual interviewed and sharing their personal experiences with violence, trauma, and enduring health effects that profoundly impact them for years afterwards.” These personal testimonies led Sydney to focus on the U.S. immigrant detention system for the legal portion of her argument. Specifically, she focuses on the detention system’s noncompliance with federal disability health and due process law.
The intention of Sydney’s research is to propose a legal argument that can be used by disability organizations to push for reform within the immigrant detention system. “In an ideal world, this argument could be used to file a class action lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It could push for the immediate release of all disabled immigrants who are detained,” Sydney explains. The release would offer immigrants partial relief from the trauma of the detention stage in the transnational migration’s chain of systemic violence.
Sydney presented her undergraduate thesis at the OSU 2020 Spring Undergraduate Research Festival. “Pursuing this thesis allowed me to engage far more deeply in my areas of interest and it helped me build invaluable research and composition skills along the way.” She is grateful for her advisors, Dr. Ana Del Sarto and Dr. Inés Valdez, who pointed her towards useful resources, posed important questions in the application of her findings, and deepened her understanding of Latin American cultural studies. “Their guidance helped me to complete a thesis with far more critical thinking, strength of argumentation, and depth of understanding than would have been possible otherwise,” she concludes.
Sydney will be attending Case Western Reserve University School of Law this fall where she will study international law with a focus on immigration and human rights. On behalf of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, we want to congratulate Sydney on her graduation from OSU and wish her well as she embarks on her future adventures at Case Western.
You can view Sydney’s presentation of her undergraduate thesis at the OSU 2020 Spring Undergraduate Research Festival here.
