This paper looks at various ways the state works to uphold its image of migration control. It suggests that rhetoric, the passing of laws, and the use of statistics or official data are important ways in which the state sends messages to the public about immigration control. Moving away from a Weberian perspective, this work engages the theories of the state from Migdal to demonstrate that contradictions between the practices of the state and the image it strives to project does not necessarily create a picture of a state with limited capacity or coordination. Rather it opens up analysis for a nuanced and multifaceted picture of the state.