“Safe” Designations for Unsafe Countries: Security Discourses and the Construction of the Mexican Refugee Applicant "Threat" in Canada

The Designated Countries of Origin (DCO) Policy was implemented to deter "bogus" refugee claims from "safe" countries. As a result, this thesis questions how Mexico's designation on the DCO policy is justified by the official stance, or the Canadian Government, its actors and institutions. I engage with theorists of Critical Security Studies (CSS) to conduct a discourse analysis of official government documents, speeches, data and case decisions to analyze Mexico's designation. I argue that Mexico's designation as a "safe" DCO country aims to significantly limit Mexican refugee applicants from seeking refuge in Canada. The official stance has constructed Mexico as a "safe" country, Mexican refugee claims as "bogus" and the presence of Mexican refugee applicants in Canada as a "threat" to society. The official stance's use of orthodox security discourses unjustly labels Mexican refugee applicants, eclipsing their personal narratives and restricting their ability to successfully obtain refuge in Canada.