Examining the Sociopolitical Development of Immigrant‐Origin Youth During a Season of Social Unrest

Abstract

The sociopolitical context for immigrant‐origin (I‐O) youth's civic development in the U.S. has dramatically shifted in the years following the 2016 election (e.g., heightened xenophobia). I‐O children comprise 26% of young people in the U.S. and include those born outside the U.S. (first generation) and those with at least one parent born outside the U.S. (second generation). Using a qualitative approach, this study examined how I‐O youth (N = 65, M = 16.22 years) experienced and engaged with the phenomena of the 2020 election season amidst recent economic, political, and social consequences from the pandemic and the current social movements against systemic racism. Findings expand our understanding of how I‐O youth engage as political actors by examining the processes surrounding their sociopolitical development.

Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble: Expanding Thinking and Research on Youth of Color’s Resistance to Oppression

“…This theme is also evident in the work of Karras et al. (2022, this volume), who qualitatively documented how immigrant‐origin youth developed critical reflection, efficacy, and action in response to the multiple intersecting oppressions they experienced in 2020 during a contentious national election, a global pandemic, rising anti‐immigrant sentiment, and a time of uprising against racial injustice.…”

“…Thus, as is true with resistance more broadly defined, youth aim their anti‐racist actions at different levels of power. Other systems of oppression were less of a focus in this special section, with the notable exception of Karras et al.’s (2022, this volume) examination of immigrant‐origin youth’s reactions to heightened anti‐immigrant sentiment and policies in parallel with other experiences of oppression during 2020. Continued research on actions that counter multiple forms of oppression is greatly needed and could draw from research on anti‐racism by assessing the focal systems of oppression with specificity and by examining anti‐oppression or emancipatory actions at multiple system levels.…”

“…Karras et al. (2022, this volume) offered examples of immigrant‐origin youth who became motivated to address anti‐Black racism in solidarity with Black youth after George Floyd’s murder, and Lee et al. (2022, this volume) also advance thinking in this area by qualitatively exploring Chinese American youth’s conversations about anti‐Asian and anti‐Black racism.…”

When WE See Us: Commentary on Black Adolescent Research by Black Male Youth Activists

“…For example, Lee et al (2022) and Bañales and Rivas-Drake (2022) highlight how youth of color develop political identities connected to their racial groups. Hipolito-Delgado et al ( 2022) and Karras et al (2022) highlighted the role of sociopolitical developmentspecifically the ways that youth's environments could either incubate or inspire political actions.…”

“…(2022) and Karras et al. (2022) highlighted the role of sociopolitical development—specifically the ways that youth's environments could either incubate or inspire political actions.…”