Systemic devaluation of immigrant lives in state violence: How racialized bias distorts accountability in policing across Western democracies

Indigenous epistemologies frame state violence as a continuation of colonial dispossession, where immigrant bodies are racialized as 'invaders' to justify land theft and resource extraction. The devaluation of immigrant lives in policing reflects a broader logic of extractive violence, where non-citizen and Indigenous communities are treated as obstacles to capitalist expansion. Traditional knowledge systems often emphasize restorative justice over carceral solutions, offering alternatives to the punitive frameworks dominant in Western policing.

The criminalization of immigrants has roots in 19th-century eugenics and early 20th-century 'alien' laws, which framed newcomers as threats to racial purity and economic stability. Colonial policing models—such as the British 'divide and rule' strategy—were later exported to settler colonies and adapted in Western democracies to control marginalized populations. The modern securitization of immigration mirrors Cold War-era tactics, where state violence against 'foreign threats' was normalized under the guise of national security.

In France, the policing of North African immigrants echoes the colonial-era 'indigénat' system, where racialized groups were subjected to arbitrary violence under the pretext of maintaining order. In India, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been used to justify extrajudicial killings of 'suspect' communities, paralleling Western practices of racial profiling. Across contexts, the dehumanization of immigrant communities serves to obscure the structural violence of capitalism, where labor precarity and displacement are treated as individual failures rather than systemic outcomes.

Empirical studies consistently show that racial bias in policing is not merely a matter of individual prejudice but a structural feature of law enforcement institutions, reinforced by training, policies, and media narratives. Neuroscientific research demonstrates how implicit bias shapes perception and judgment, particularly in high-stress environments like policing, where split-second decisions are made under conditions of uncertainty. The Harvard Dataverse study aligns with criminological theories of 'othering,' which argue that dehumanization is a prerequisite for the normalization of state violence.

Artistic movements like the Black Lives Matter murals or Indigenous-led protest art challenge the dehumanization of targeted communities by centering their humanity and resilience. Spiritual traditions across cultures often frame violence as a disruption of communal harmony, emphasizing reparative justice over retributive punishment. In many Indigenous cosmologies, the land itself is a living entity, and the violence against immigrant bodies is seen as a violation of the sacred web of life, demanding collective healing rather than punitive measures.

If current trends persist, the securitization of immigration will likely intensify, with AI-driven surveillance and predictive policing exacerbating racial disparities in state violence. Scenario planning suggests that climate-induced migration will further strain these systems, as governments increasingly rely on militarized borders to manage displacement. Alternative futures require dismantling the carceral state and investing in community-based safety models that address root causes of violence, such as economic inequality and housing insecurity.

Immigrant-led organizations, such as the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) or the Migrant Forum in Asia, have long documented how racialized policing disproportionately targets Black, Muslim, and Indigenous immigrant communities. These groups argue that reforms like body cameras or diversity training are insufficient without addressing the structural racism embedded in policing institutions. Their knowledge, rooted in lived experience, offers critical insights into the failures of carceral solutions and the need for transformative justice.