Political Protest, Ethnic Media, and Latino Naturalization

Abstract

In the spring of 2006, anti-immigrant legislation triggered historic immigrant rights protests in cities throughout the United States. In places like California, protest of immigrant-targeting legislation is not new. A hostile political context in California during the mid-1990s stimulated naturalization rates, voter registration, and turnout among Latinos therein. The spring 2006 immigrant rights protests provide a unique research opportunity to further examine the relationship between a contentious political climate and Latino immigrants' decision to naturalize. Earlier work highlights the role of Latino civic organizations in naturalizing and mobilizing co-ethnics to vote. This article considers an additional key variable: the ethnic media. Unpublished data from citizenship application workshops sponsored by a national Latino civic organization and a pilot survey of workshop participants were used to examine patterns of participation in the protests and use of Spanish-language media for political information among Latino naturalizers. Although this article examines an unfolding issue, it may hold implications for the future of Latino politics. A link between the recent immigrant protests and the decision to naturalize by Latino immigrants may suggest that a cohort of newly enfranchised Latinos will have high rates of participation.

How Watershed Immigration Policies Affect American Public Opinion over a Lifetime

“…Of course, while evidence exists that younger individuals tend to be less politically involved and interested than their older counterparts, events that are either directly and personally related to them can spur them to political action ( see , Garcia Bedolla ; Félix, González, and Ramírez ).…”

Nationality Policies in the Books and in Practice: Comparing Immigrant Naturalisation across Europe

“…A few scholars have been able to quantify the importance of specific promotional measures and practical obstacles like fees (e.g. Felix et al, 2008, Hainmueller and Hangartner, 2013, Pastor et al, 2013and Hainmueller et al, 2018.…”

(Re)Bordering the Civic Imaginary: Rhetoric, Hybridity, and Citizenship inLa Gran Marcha

“…Radio DJs in particular played a key role in mobilizing popular support and participation by promoting LGM to both Latina/o citizens and immigrants. 30 Though protests in Chicago and Phoenix in early March (organized by many of the same groups and activists) provided impetus for LGM, the size and scope of the LA march exceeded all expectations. As one organizer*Victor Narro of the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education*remembered: By 7am it was clear that there were more than [the projected] 50 000 [sic] people ready to march.…”

“…12 Research shows that some have interpreted LGM through bordering logics as an ''alien'' discourse. 13 According to this view, immigrants who took to the streets justified their exclusion from US citizenship by embodying their foreignness, criminality, and threat to the nation.…”