TikTok Deterrence at the Border

Updated: 2025.09.14 1M ago 2 sources
The article notes migrants updated their expectations based on social-media clips: under Biden, posts showed easy entry; under Trump, they show ICE arrests, deportations, and people stranded in Mexico. This reframes deterrence as an information dynamic where perceived odds drive flows as much as physical barriers. — If migration decisions hinge on viral evidence of enforcement, border policy must manage narrative signals alongside operations to sustain deterrence.

Sources

Intertemporal substitution
Tyler Cowen 2025.09.14 50% relevant
Both pieces show how expectations created by enforcement narratives change migrant behavior; here, fear of deportation shifts the timing of remittances, just as viral clips of arrests shifted crossing decisions.
Turning the Tide in America’s Border and Fentanyl Crises
Robert C. Thornett 2025.08.20 100% relevant
Claims that 'migrants’ social media posts' now show arrests and deportations, conveying 'Don’t bother coming' as the new message.
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