Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine US Cities

CONTEXT MATTERS: Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities

Series on latino immigrant civic engagEment

charlotte, nc • chicago, il • fresno, ca • las vegas, nv • los angeles, ca • omaha, ne • san jose, ca • tucson, az • washington, dc

CONTEXT MATTERS: Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities Series on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement

Authors: Xóchitl Bada University of Illinois at Chicago

Jonathan Fox University of California, Santa Cruz

Robert Donnelly Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Mexico Institute

Andrew Selee Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Mexico Institute

Authors: Xóchitl Bada, Jonathan Fox, Robert Donnelly, and Andrew Selee

Series Editors: Xóchitl Bada, Jonathan Fox, and Andrew Selee

Coordinators: Kate Brick and Robert Donnelly

Translator: Mauricio Sánchez Álvarez

Preferred citation: Xóchitl Bada, Jonathan Fox, Robert Donnelly, and Andrew Selee. Context Matters: Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities, Reports on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, National Report. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, April 2010.

Cover image: Upper photo: Demonstrating against HR 4437 and the criminalization of the undocumented, thousands of immigrants and supporters filled the streets of Los Angeles two times on May 1, 2006—first, with a march downtown; then, with another through the Wilshire District’s Miracle Mile, where this photo was taken. Chants heard included, “¡Aquí estamos y no nos vamos!” Photo by David Bacon. Used by permission. Lower photo: Naturalization rates of Latin America-born immigrants, particularly Mexicans, increased sharply over 1995-2005 for a variety of reasons. Photo of a naturalization ceremony by David McNew/Getty Images News.

The authors would like to acknowledge Ricardo Ramírez, assistant professor of Political Science and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, for his contribution to the title of this report. CONTENTS

PREFACe 5

CHAPTER 1 7 Understanding Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement: Context Matters Jonathan Fox

CHAPTER 2 13 Coalitions: Translating Engagement into Empowerment Jonathan Fox

CHAPTER 3 18 State and Local Governments Influence Integration Outcomes Xóchitl Bada

CHAPTER 4 27 Spanish-Language Media’s Increased Role in Immigrant Integration Xóchitl Bada

CHAPTER 5 30 Church Commitment Matters Xóchitl Bada

CHAPTER 6 34 Union Presence Is Key Where It Is Present Xóchitl Bada

CHAPTER 7 38 Immigrant Youth Are Emerging Actors Xóchitl Bada

CHAPTER 8 41 Citizenship Trends: Growing Rates but Persistent Lags Jonathan Fox

CHAPTER 9 48 From Civic to Political Participation Andrew Selee

Appendix 70 List of Project Partners, Events, and Publications

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 75

5 CONTEXT MATTERS: PREFACE

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities

The intense debate on immigration policy in commitment to working within the U.S. po- the United States in recent years has largely fo- litical process. cused on how to regulate immigrants’ roles as This mass entry of primarily Latin American workers, their impact on public spending, and immigrants into the U.S. public sphere ap- how to reconcile labor market, community, peared to be largely spontaneous. Yet in many and family needs with workable and humane cities the size, speed, and discipline of the law enforcement. These are important debates, public presence were made possible by years and their outcome will determine the character of quiet community organizing and coalition- of U.S. society for generations to come. building, as immigrant-led organizations con- However, far less has been written about solidated and reached out to U.S. civil society the role that immigrants play in the civic and counterparts. political life of communities throughout the Nonetheless, the way that Latin American United States. This volume aims to fill that immigrants have become engaged within their void by focusing on the contributions that local communities varies considerably across Latin American immigrants are making to the country. In some cases, local institutions— U.S. communities and the barriers they face in government, churches, labor unions, and busi- seeking to do so. ness networks—have partnered with recent In the spring of 2006, a wave of immi- immigrants from Latin America to facilitate grant mobilization showed that immigrants their entry into civic and political life. In other were capable of taking disciplined civic action cases, these institutions have been absent, less on a massive scale. According to the most engaged, or sometimes even hostile to their in- conservative press estimates, at least three- corporation. We argue that the context that and-a-half to five million people took to the immigrants face in their local communities streets, with virtually no reports of violence.1 helps shape the way and the extent to which Participants included citizens, legal residents they become active participants in public life. and undocumented migrants. In their efforts This publication is based on a detailed to influence U.S. public policy and percep- study of nine cities in the United States as tions, they demonstrated an unprecedented well as additional commissioned research on specific areas of immigrant civic and political the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jonathan participation. Reports have already been pub- Fox of the University of California, Santa Cruz, lished in each of these cities in collaboration and Andrew Selee of the Woodrow Wilson with partner organizations, and several addi- Center. Robert Donnelly at the Wilson Center tional research papers are also available. A full served as the project coordinator, a role previ- 6 list of the reports and the partner organizations ously played by Kate Brick. can be found in the Appendix, as well as at the project’s website at www.wilsoncenter.org/mi- noteS grantparticipation. This project was funded by a generous grant 1 For specific data see Chart 8.1 in Xóchitl Bada, from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Jonathan Fox, and Andrew Selee, eds., Invisible Foundation and based at the Woodrow Wilson No More: Mexican Migrant Civic Participation, Center’s Latin American Program and Mexico Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center and Institute. It has been led by Xóchitl Bada of University of California, Santa Cruz, July 2006. Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

CONTEXT MATTERS: CHAPTER 1 7 CONTEXT MATTERS: Understanding latino immigrant Civic Engagement: Context Matters

Jonathan Fox1

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities

Dominant media and policy debates have long many hundreds of thousands heeded the call to tended to exclude Latin American immigrant send a collective message that they wanted to voices. Critics frame them as threats to the be “good citizens,” by wearing white and wav- English language, competitors for jobs, or sim- ing U.S. flags.4 ply criminals. Until recently, even sympathetic In their efforts to influence U.S. percep- portraits often framed immigrants primarily as tions and public policy, they demonstrated an strivers who work hard for the dream of a bet- unprecedented commitment to working within ter life for their children, or as victims deserv- the mainstream U.S. governance process, fol- ing of humanitarian concern, but not as civic lowing the civics textbook process of “how a and political actors in their own right. Until bill becomes law.” In many, if not most of these the spring 2006 wave of public mobilization, cities—especially in the Sun Belt, but even in the broader U.S. society tended to ignore im- Chicago—the spring 2006 mobilizations were migrants’ capacity to represent themselves di- not only the largest immigrant rights mobili- rectly in the public sphere. This unprecedented zation ever. They were the largest mass public process of “coming out” revealed that immi- protest on any issue, ever. grants are capable of taking disciplined civic For many observers, this mass entry of action on a vast scale. primarily Latin American immigrants into At least three-and-a-half to five million peo- the U.S. public sphere appeared to be largely ple took to the streets that spring, with virtually spontaneous—a defensive response to a bill no reports of violence or arrests, according to passed by the House of Representatives that the most conservative English-language press promised to criminalize both immigrants and estimates.2 Participants included citizens, legal their U.S. allies (HR 4437). The specter of residents, and undocumented migrants—many nuns, nurses, and teachers being hauled off in the same families. Indeed, U.S.-born Latinos to jail loomed large, leading the archbishop participated on a massive scale; surveys found of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, to that second- and third-generation Latinos were openly threaten mass civil disobedience in the as likely to participate as the foreign-born.3 By pages of The New York Times if HR 4437 be- the May 1 peak of the cycle of mobilization, came law.5 Even immigrant community leaders were filling the streets on May 1, 2006, subsequent surprised by the scale of the public response. trends varied widely. In some cities, immigrant Yet in many cities, the size, speed, and consis- civic engagement broadened and deepened, tent messaging of immigrants’ collective ac- especially in large, traditional gateway metro- tion was made possible by their years of quiet politan areas such as Chicago and Los Angeles, 8 community organizing and coalition-building, where citizenship applications from permanent as immigrant-led organizations consolidated residents soared. The Spanish-language com- and reached out to U.S. civil society counter- munications media mobilized as never before, parts—especially U.S. Latino allies. In the pro- promoting citizenship with their “Now’s the cess, generational differences became visible, time!” campaign (“Ya Es Hora”).7 In contrast, between those who had led the 1970s’ wave of in many medium-sized cities, such as Charlotte Latino civil rights campaigns, and those who and Omaha, where for the first time thousands had honed their organizing skills following the of immigrants had felt safe enough to “come post-1986 mass regularization of unauthor- out” in 2006, the dominant subsequent trend ized immigrants under President Reagan.6 As was fear. Federal enforcement of immigration an important precedent, these two genera- law in the heartland ratcheted up to an unprec- tions had come together in 1994 to challenge edented degree.8 The total number of removals California’s Prop. 187. In 2006, they came to- of unauthorized immigrants rose 27 percent Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant gether again—but this time primarily under from 2006 to 2008.9 immigrant leadership. The spring 2006 marches revealed a process At least partly in response to the immigrant that had been taking place often silently but rights protests, HR 4437 did not become law. consistently: the emergence of Latin American Yet the power to block a hard-line law did not migrants as actors in American civic and po- CONTEXT MATTERS: translate easily into capacity to promote a legis- litical life. They have done so by creating new lative reform. Instead, the following three years migrant-led organizations, such as hometown witnessed a legislative stalemate—as neither associations, non-profits, faith-based organi- campaigners for criminalization and mass de- zations, indigenous right groups, community portation nor advocates of comprehensive im- media and their own workers’ organizations— migration reform managed to mobilize a win- as well as by joining existing U.S. organizations, ning coalition in Congress. such as community associations, churches, Observers asked challenging questions after unions, business associations, civil rights or- 2006—among them: Why was the mass public ganizations, and media groups. In the process, mobilization not repeated? For some, the wide- they are transforming these U.S. institutions, as spread fear generated by stepped-up workplace other immigrant groups have done throughout raids explained much of the reticence. Others’ American history. By the turn of the century, questions were based on different assumptions, many Latin American migrant organizations wondering how 2006 was possible at all. Yet no pursued two-track strategies, sustaining their single factor accounts for either the ebb or the commitments to their communities of origin flow of street protest, which is just one tactic in while working to improve their home com- the broader repertoire of civic engagement. munities in the United States. This is the kind Locally, in the hundreds of cities and towns of dual engagement that can be understood in that had experienced thousands of residents terms of practices of “civic binationality.”10 Yet the spring 2006 wave and its diverg- sofar as participation trends need to be coming aftermaths underscore how little is known pared across hometown associations, worker about the current process of immigrant inte- organizations, neighborhood associations, or gration in the United States. Different political religious communities. cultures associated with national origin matter, In the literature on naturalization and vot- 9 but analysts are still not sure how. Differences ing patterns of new citizens, it turns out that across region and city in the United States also implicitly homogeneous national samples can CONTEXT MATTERS: count, but analysts are still not sure how. What hide significant regional differences. Notably, is clear, however, is that long-distance engage- a path-breaking study of immigrant civic and ment in home-country issues, once assumed to political participation trends in the 1990s undermine civic participation in the United found that legal immigrants in California were

States, is now increasingly recognized as en- much more likely to become citizens and to Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities couraging participation in U.S. civic life.11 It vote than those in Texas and Florida—mainly turns out that joiners are joiners, even when due to California’s much more politicized en- they move from one society to another. vironment and the perceived threat to Latinos This applied research project attempts to posed by three successive ballot initiatives.13 contribute to our understanding of patterns These cross-regional differences in immigrant of immigrant integration by taking a com- naturalization and voting trends only become parative approach to analyzing Latin American visible once one takes a comparative ap- migrant collective action in the United States. proach—across regions, sectors, and patterns Most often in migration studies compara- of participation. tive analysis refers to one specific approach, In contrast to the dominant research focus the comparison of different national origin on the characteristics that immigrants bring groups. This approach, most often used in sur- with them, the focus here is instead on varia- vey research, has generated rich findings. Yet tion at the receiving end. The punch line for the migrant population in the United States understanding immigrant civic engagement, is so large, and so diverse, that national-origin in other words, is that “context matters.”14 averages can mask other key variables, such Inspired by this approach, this report synthe- as ethnicity, sub-national region of origin, or sizes the results of a study of Latino immigrant region of settlement. For example, migrants civic engagement across nine different cities. from different Mexican states organize home- The focus on a diverse array of cities was town associations at widely varying rates. intended to inform comparative analysis by Meanwhile, some U.S. cities have hundreds of highlighting varying patterns of civic engage- hometown associations, notably Chicago and ment. The project included both traditional Los Angeles, while others have very few, such immigrant gateway cities, such as Los Angeles as Fresno. Latin American migrants of indig- and Chicago, as well as centers of rapidly grow- enous and Afro-Latin American origin orga- ing new settlement, such as Las Vegas, Omaha, nize differently. Even among indigenous Latin and Charlotte. The cities’ sizes also ranged from Americans, members of some ethnic groups vast metropolitan areas to regional centers. organize much more than others, and in some While the U.S. Latino communities in some regions of the United States more than in oth- of the cities are longstanding, as in Fresno, San ers.12 Sectoral differences may also matter, in- Jose, and Tucson, they are much more recent in others, as in the case of Washington, DC. As Participation in the 2006 Immigration Protest a result, in some cities immigrants join large, Rallies,” Urban Affairs Review, 44, no. 5, well-established Latino communities, whereas (2009): 753; and, as well, Pallares and Flores- González. in others they unsettle long-standing black- white paradigms. Substantial Asian immigrant 4 For example, on May 1, 2006 in San Jose, 10 communities, especially in California, add to reporters found that U.S. flags outsold Mexican flags at a rate of 5 to 1. See: Patrick May, the varied panoramas of civic engagement.15 Mary Anne Ostrom and Rodney Foo, “A Call The nine city experiences documented in the for Rights: Bay Area Rallies: Demands Ring reports that accompany this overview, while Out From San Francisco to Salinas for Fair by no means a “representative sample” of the Reforms,” San Jose Mercury News, May 2, diversity of local contexts for immigrant civic 2006. engagement, offer a robust picture of the un- 5 Roger Mahony, “Called by God to Help,” even terrain within which immigrants decide The New York Times, March 22, 2006, Op- whether and how to engage in civic action. ed, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/22/ opinion/22mahony.html, (Accessed March 1, 2010).

notes 6 Note the Fresno experience documented in Myrna Martínez Nateras and Eduardo Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Stanley, Latino Immigrant Civic and 1 Thanks very much to Myrna Martínez Nateras Political Participation in Fresno and Madera, for comments on an earlier version of this essay. California. Reports on Latino Immigrant The chapter title and book title were inspired Civic Engagement, No. 3, (Washington, DC: by conversations with Prof. Ricardo Ramírez of Woodrow Wilson International Center for the University of Southern California. Scholars, 2009), 23. CONTEXT MATTERS: 2 For specific data on the total numbers, see 7 See David Ayón’s detailed analysis in his Chart 8.1 in Xóchitl Bada, Jonathan Fox, “Mobilizing Latino Immigrant Integration: and Andrew Selee, eds., Invisible No More: From IRCA to the Ya Es Hora Citizenship Mexican Migrant Civic Participation in the Campaign, 1987-2007.” Research Paper United States (Washington, DC: Woodrow Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and Political Wilson International Center for Scholars, Participation, No. 1, (Washington, DC: August 2006). Two edited collections on the Woodrow Wilson International Center for 2006 marches in press are: Kim Voss and Irene Scholars, 2009). Bloemraad, eds., Rallying for Immigrant Rights, (Berkeley: University of California Press, forth- 8 In North Carolina, for example, police col- coming); and Amalia Pallares and Nilda Flores- laboration with immigration enforcement González, eds., ¡Marcha! Latino Chicago and grew and undocumented students were barred the Immigrant Rights Movement, (Champaign: from the state’s community colleges. See Chris University of Illinois Press, forthcoming). See Bishop, “¿Sí Se Puede? Immigrant-Led Political also a special issue of American Behavioral Activism in Charlotte, North Carolina: One Scientist 52, no. 4, (December, 2008). For par- Community Organizer’s Perspective,” Research ticipant testimonies, see also Victor Cortés, ed. Paper Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and 10 de Marzo. La Marcha, (Chicago: Ediciones Political Participation, No. 2, (Washington, La Cuadrilla de la Langosta/Misiza, 2006). DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2009). 3 See: Matt Barreto, Sylvia Manzano, Ricardo Ramírez, and Kathy Rim, “Mobilization, 9 This does not include border apprehensions, Participation and Solidaridad, Latino which dropped 35 percent during the same period. Of those removed by ICE in 2008, of Immigrants and their Political Participation 74 percent were not considered “criminals,” in the United States,” (Paper presented at according to the official data (Department of the annual meeting of the American Political Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Science Association, August 2008). Also see Statistics, 2009). Moreover, of those removed James McCann, Wayne Cornelius, and David in 2008, no less than 94 percent were of Latin Leal, “Mexico’s Voto Remoto and the Potential 11 American origin—in contrast to their estimated for Transnational Civic Engagement among

75 percent share of the overall unauthorized Mexican Expatriates,” in Jorge Dominguez, CONTEXT MATTERS: immigrant population. See: Michael Hoefer, Chappell Lawson, and Alejandro Moreno, Nancy Rytina, and Bryan C. Baker, “Estimates eds., Consolidating Mexico’s Democracy: The of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population 2006 Presidential Campaign in Comparative Residing in the United States: January 2008, Perspective, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Population Estimates,” (Washington, DC: University Press, 2009). Also see Timothy

Office of Immigration Statistics, Department Ready, Roger Knight, and Sung-Chan Chun, Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities of Homeland Security, February 2008), http:// “Latino Civic and Community Involvement: www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/immigration.shtm. Findings from the Chicago-Area Survey,” Rising numbers of hate crimes are another (Notre Dame, Ind.: Institute for Latino source of fear in the immigrant community. Studies, University of Notre Dame, 2006). This Between 2003 and 2007, officially reported wave of original empirical research appeared hate crimes against primarily immigrant shortly after Huntington made his well-known Latinos rose 40 percent. See: Leadership claim that Latin American home-country ties Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, inherently conflicted with U.S. civic engage- “Confronting the New Faces of Hate: Hate ment. For critiques, see, among others, Jack Crimes in America 2009,” (2009), http://www. Citrin, Amy Lerman, Michael Murakami, and civilrights.org/publications/hatecrimes/. Kathryn Pearson, “Testing Huntington: Is Hispanic Immigration a Threat to American 10 See Jonathan Fox and Xóchitl Bada, “Migrant Identity?” Perspectives on Politics, 5 no.1, Civic Engagement,” Research Paper Series (2007), 31-48. Also see Luis R. Fraga and on Latino Immigrant Civic and Political Gary M. Segura, “Culture Clash? Contesting Participation, No. 3, (Washington, DC: Notions of American Identity and the Effects Woodrow Wilson International Center for of Latin American Immigration,” Perspectives Scholars), 2009, www.wilsoncenter.org/mi- on Politics, 4, no. 2, (2007), 279-287. grantparticipation. Also forthcoming in Voss and Bloemraad. 12 See Jonathan Fox and Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, Eds. Indigenous Mexican Migrants in the United 11 Comprehensive recent studies have found States, (La Jolla: University of California, a close correlation between home-country Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies and Center engagements and civic involvement in the for Comparative Immigration Studies, 2004). United States among Mexican migrants. See: Louis DeSipio, “Transnational Politics 13 See Adrian D. Pantoja, Ricardo Ramírez, and Civic Engagement: Do Home Country and Gary M. Segura, “Citizens by Choice, Political Ties Limit Latino Immigrant Pursuit Voters by Necessity: Patterns in Political of U.S. Civic Engagement and Citizenship?” Mobilization by Naturalized Latinos,” in Taeku Lee, Karthick Ramakrishnan, and Political Research Quarterly, 54 no. 4, (2001), Ricardo Ramírez, eds., Transforming Politics, 729-750. This classic study was the first to Transforming America: The Political and Civic systematically assess the role of political con- Incorporation of Immigrants in the United States, text in motivating voter turnout among both (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia naturalized and U.S.-born Latino voters. See Press, 2006). See also: Michael Jones-Correa also Matt Barreto and Nathan Woods, “The and Mabel Andalon. “The Prior Socialization Anti-Latino Political Context and its Impact on GOP Detachment and Increasing Voter Karthick, and Irene Bloemraad, Eds., Civic Turnout in Los Angeles County,” in Gary Hopes and Political Realities: Immigrants, Segura and Shaun Bowler, eds., Diversity in Community Organizations and Political Democracy: Minority Representation in the Engagement, (New York: Russell Sage, 2008). United States, (Charlottesville, VA: University Many of these studies address locally specific 12 of Virginia, 2005). Also see: Matt Barreto, contexts for engagement; they title one section, Ricardo Ramírez, and Nathan Woods. “The importance of place.” Along similar lines, “Are Naturalized Voters Driving the Latino an entire issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Electorate? Measuring the Impact of IRCA Migration Studies addresses “Local Contexts of on Latino Voting in California,” Social Immigrant and Second-Generation Integration Science Quarterly, 86, (2005), specifically in the United States,” vol. 35, no. 7, 2009. pages 792-811. 15 See, for example, the San Jose report in this 14 In addition to the studies cited in note 5, for series: Rosario Vital, Coming Out and Making more on “context matters,” see also Bloemraad’s History: Latino Immigrant Civic Participation comparison of immigrant integration pat- in San Jose, Reports on Latino Immigrant terns in the United States and Canada in Irene Civic Engagement, No. 7 (Washington, DC: Bloemraad, Becoming a Citizen: Incorporating Woodrow Wilson International Center for Immigrants and Refugees in the United States and Scholars, April 2010). For pioneering overviews Canada, (Berkeley: University of California, of both Latin American and Asian immi- 2006). She shows that immigrants with similar grant political participation patterns, see Lee, Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant characteristics follow different civic pathways, Ramakrishnan, and Ramírez (2006), as well depending on the context of their integration. as S. Karthick Ramakrishnan. Democracy in It turns out to matter whether governments Immigrant America: Changing Demographics actively encourage immigrant integration. See and Political Participation, (Palo Alto: Stanford also the recent studies in S. Ramakrishnan, S. University Press, 2005). CONTEXT MATTERS: CHAPTER 2 13 CONTEXT MATTERS: Coalitions: Translating Engagement into Empowerment1

Jonathan Fox

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities

Coalitions refer to groups of organizations that civil society, vary greatly across cities and come together to pursue shared goals—in spite states—as does U.S. Latino capacity for politi- of possibly different constituencies, strategies, cal representation.4 and tactics. To understand immigrant civic en- The Ya Es Hora citizenship campaign, gagement, one needs to explore both how dif- which followed the 2006 marches, is an espe- ferent kinds of immigrant organizations work cially notable example of a cross-sectoral coali- together, as well as how they collaborate with tion between U.S. and immigrant-led institu- non-immigrant allies. The breadth of partici- tions that mapped unevenly across the United pation in the 2006 marches reflected a de facto States. This unprecedented effort brought to- coalition between Latin American immigrants gether organizations with complementary con- and U.S. Latinos. A survey of Chicago May stituencies and skills, notably Spanish-language 1 protest participants revealed that most re- broadcast media, the National Association of ported that they were U.S. citizens.2 A survey Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, trade of Los Angeles participants reported that 38 unions such as SEIU, and city-based immi- percent were English-dominant. Both marches grant rights coalitions.5 also involved relevant minorities of non-Latino The uneven terrain of the context for re- participants.3 ception of immigrants is highly relevant be- One reason that “context matters” greatly cause, while immigrants have clearly dem- for immigrant civic engagement is that coali- onstrated their capacity to build their own tion possibilities vary widely across cities and social and civic institutions, their capacity to regions. “Immigrant-friendly” U.S. institutions take the next step and create political space, are much stronger in some areas than in others. legitimacy, and voice in the policy process Notably, the presence of the Catholic Church, requires building coalitions with established labor unions, and the Spanish-language broad- U.S. institutions. The creation of this shared cast media maps very unevenly across the U.S. space at the city level, in turn, can reshape the landscape. Most importantly, the breadth and environment within which immigrants decide density of immigrants’ most consistent coali- when and how to become more involved with tion partners, the institutions of U.S. Latino civic life. This “virtuous circle” represents one cases of Fresno and areas of new settlement, significant pathway for immigrant integra- such as Omaha and Charlotte. tion—yet one that will only be discovered While coalitions with U.S. organizations and understood if patterns of civic engage- and institutions are crucial for immigrant em- ment are “unpacked” at the local level, as the powerment, immigrants themselves are likely 14 nine different city reports in this series try to have more policy influence insofar as they to do. It is no coincidence that many of the are also able to build coalitions among their key players in the buildup to the 2006 wave own diverse forms of organizations. The con- of mobilization were called something like cept of “migrant civil society” refers to the the “[Fill in the name of your city] Coalition growing arena of migrant-led social and civic for Immigrant Rights.” In city after city, organizations—a space marked by the conver- these coalitions brought together church, gence between broad-based membership or- labor, and Latino civil rights groups with ganizations, nonprofit support organizations, immigrant-led community-based organiza- and community-oriented media, which often tions. Yet in each city, the relative weights come together to create their own autono- of the different coalition partners varied mous public spaces for cultural, social and greatly. Labor was a major player in cities civic expression.8 When these distinct forms where union density is higher, such as Los of organization and representation forge Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Angeles, San Jose, Chicago and Las Vegas— partnerships for mutual support, they are and almost invisible where organized labor is building their own coalitions within migrant weak, as in Fresno, Omaha and Charlotte. 6 civil society. This capacity to come together The Catholic Church was very involved in among immigrant groups is especially impor- some cities, yet kept a low profile in others, tant where allies in other sectors are politically CONTEXT MATTERS: such as Charlotte, Omaha and Las Vegas. 7 weak. In Fresno, for example, U.S. Latino civil In Fresno, the bishop came out against HR society remains politically weak, and cultural 4437, and a key march started at a church gaps also persist between Mexican-Americans with a priest’s blessing. Yet even in cities and immigrants. As a result, coalition options where the Catholic hierarchy was commit- were limited in 2006, and Fresno’s migrant ted to supporting immigrant rights, such organizations mobilized largely on their own, as Los Angeles, there was wide variation in pulling off what was by far the largest protest levels of engagement from one parish to an- march in the city’s history. 9 other. While Latino and immigrant youth While some coalitions are long-standing, were heavily involved across the board, their others are more ephemeral—as in the case of capacity to have a seat at the table in local many of the groups that came together to pro- coalitions varied widely—even leading to mote the 2006 wave of mobilization. Clearly, inter-generational conflict in some cases, the threat posed by hard-line legislation as in Las Vegas. The role of elected officials brought together groups in 2006 that had not also varied widely, depending on whether the worked closely before, and some have not col- cities were traditionally immigrant-friendly laborated since. Some cities even experienced gateways such as Chicago, as well as on the competing protest coalitions, which though degree to which Latinos were underrepre- inconvenient for organizers and perhaps con- sented in local and state politics, as in the fusing to some participants, is also testimony to the diversity of views within migrant civil trust and help to find common ground among society and its allies. diverse constituencies. This too varies greatly The role of threat in bringing potential from city to city. The philanthropic sector in allies together is a two-edged sword. Clearly, large, traditional immigrant gateway cities a sense of urgency encourages groups to tends to be much more open to investing in 15 overcome differences for the sake of broader immigrant integration, notably in Chicago, 12 shared goals, and helps to explain the unex- Los Angeles, and New York City. Uneven CONTEXT MATTERS: pected breadth of community participation access to resources in turn reinforces the gulf in 2006. At the same time, however, when the that separates large, multi-ethnic cities from shared threat is lifted, fault lines and limita- smaller cities and towns. tions are exposed. Moreover, groups with dif- In brief, coalition dynamics among immi- ferent constituencies and strategies may also grant organizations are deeply influenced by a Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities have very different ideas about how to pur- challenge shared by many other civic and so- sue ostensibly shared goals. These differences cial movements throughout the hemisphere. resurfaced when the debate shifted from op- In Latin America, this challenge is known as posing 2005 legislation that was universally the difficult transition “from protest to pro- seen as a threat to the question of how best posal.” In the process of deepening democ- to support comprehensive immigration re- racy, when outsiders manage to become inform. In some cases, different perceptions siders, or at least get access to insiders, they of the tradeoffs between what was possible often find that the skills and repertoires that versus what was desirable led to the emer- worked so well in the street need to be re- gence of parallel coalitions. In Los Angeles, tooled if and when the opportunity arises to for example, one coalition called for compre- try to reform the state. In the case of immi- hensive immigration reform, while another grant civic engagement in the United States, supported full amnesty.10 Yet some of the the strategies and tactics that led to an un- coalitions that brought together very differ- precedented wave of collective action in 2006 ent constituencies—at first in response to encountered much less resonance in 2009. Yet threats—have managed to survive over time, in the intervening years, many of the key local thanks to shared leadership visions and con- coalitions recognized that protest was not sistent cross-cultural trust-building efforts.11 enough. They shifted gears, focusing their en- Coalition dynamics are also influenced by the ergies on encouraging citizenship for eligible inherent tension between community-based permanent residents, voter education, and groups, whose leaders can be held account- turnout. Immigrant naturalization and voter able by their constituencies, and national turnout trends in 2007 and 2008 suggest policy advocacy groups, whose deep involve- that they made a difference. Nevertheless, ment in the policy process can lead them to the impact of immigrant civic coalitions on be more inclined to accept the difficult com- the policy process will depend heavily on dy- promises required to build a winning legisla- namics that unfold far from most immigrant tive coalition. communities, as congressional representatives Another key factor that shapes coalitional from swing districts with few immigrant vot- possibilities is the availability of philanthropic ers may have the last word on comprehensive resources to support initiatives that can build immigration reform. notes than U.S. Can Process,” Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2008, A4. 1 Coalitions are partnerships among distinct 6 In Fresno, for example, not even the UFW actors that coordinate action in pursuit of got involved in planning the 2006 marches. shared goals. Successful collective action in (Myrna Martínez Nateras, personal communi- 16 civil society often depends on the formation cation, September 9, 2009). and survival of coalitions—insofar as the whole 7 See, on Charlotte, NC, Chris Bishop, “¿Sí Se becomes greater than the sum of the parts. Puede? Immigrant-Led Political Activism in See Jonathan Fox, “Coalitions and Networks” Charlotte, North Carolina: One Community in Helmut Anheier and Stefan Toepler, eds., Organizer’s Perspective,” Research Paper International Encyclopedia of Civil Society, (New Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and Political York: Springer Publications, 2009). Participation, No. 2, (Washington, DC: 2 See Amalia Pallares and Nilda Flores- Woodrow Wilson International Center González, Eds., ¡Marcha! Latino Chicago and for Scholars, 2009); and on Los Angeles, the Immigrant Rights Movement. (Champaign: Luisa Heredia, “‘Welcoming the Stranger’: University of Illinois Press, forthcoming). The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles.” Research 3 See Kim Dionne, Elizabeth Carlson, Michael Paper Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and Suk-Young Chwe, Darin DeWitt, Ryan Enos, Political Participation, No. 4, (Washington, and Michael Stone, “The Different Movers DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

in a Social Movement: Survey data from the Scholars, 2009). May 1 immigration rallies in Los Angeles,” (Unpublished study by researchers affiliated 8 On migrant civil society, see Jonathan Fox and with the University of California, Los Angeles’ Xóchitl Bada, “Migrant Civic Engagement.” Department of Political Science), http://www. Research Paper Series on Latino Immigrant Civic allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_ and Political Participation, No. 3. Washington, CONTEXT MATTERS: citation/2/0/9/6/0/p209604_index.html. DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, May 2009. www.wilsoncenter. 4 For example, the number of Latinos elected to org/migrantparticipation. Also forthcom- state and federal legislatures rose by 50 percent ing in Voss and Bloemraad. op cit. Also between 1996 and 2007, according to the see Jonathan Fox, “Mapping Migrant Civil National Association of Latino Elected and Society,” (Paper presented at the conference, Appointed Officials Education Fund. See table “Mapping Mexican Migrant Civic and Political 3 in chapter 9 of this volume. However, the Participation,” Woodrow Wilson International pattern of representation appears to be highly Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, geographically concentrated. November 4-5, 2005). 5 See David Ayón, “Mobilizing Latino 9 According to Dean Williamson, a senior Immigrant Integration: From IRCA to the member of the Fresno police department, Ya Es Hora Citizenship Campaign, 1987- “There was very good communication between 2007.” Research Paper Series on Latino the organizers of the events and with city staff. Immigrant Civic and Political Participation, Fresno does not have many organized protests. No. 1, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson I have worked for the city for thirty-one years, International Center for Scholars, 2009). And and I believe the May 1, 2006 protest was the also see Miriam Jordan, “Univisión Gives largest and most peaceful” (personal email Citizenship Drive an Unusual Lift.” Wall communication, June 16, 2006). Street Journal, May 10, 2007, A1; and Miriam Jordan, “Paper Jam May Curb Latino Vote: 10 This difference in strategy was accompa- Citizenship Drive Drew More Applications nied by differences in tactics. The coalition with the more radical goals also called for a ner.nyu.edu/leadership/change/research_prod- boycott and strike on May 1, 2006. This led ucts.php. many immigrant-based unions to keep their 12 See, for example, Manuel Pastor and Rhonda distance, since they are constrained by law Ortiz, “Immigrant Integration in Los from calling their members off their jobs. Angeles: Strategic Directions for Funders,” See Cassandra Engeman, “Social Movements (University of Southern California, Program 17 and Organizations in Relation: Local Union for Environmental and Regional Equity and Involvement in Immigrants’ Rights Movements CONTEXT MATTERS: Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration, in Los Angeles,” (paper presented at the January, 2009), http://csii.usc.edu/publica- American Sociological Association Annual tions.html. More generally, see the work of Meetings, August 9, 2009). the funders’ affinity group, Grantmakers 11 Consider the notable statewide alliance be- Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees at

tween Oregon’s coalition of immigrant worker http://www.gcir.org/. They define immigrant Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities rights groups and the state’s rural network integration “as a dynamic, two-way process in of defenders of gay and lesbian rights, which which newcomers and the receiving society have collaborated for more than a decade. See work together to build secure, vibrant, and co- Lynn Stephen, Jan Lanier, Ramón Ramírez, hesive communities. We utilize the term ‘inte- and Marcy Westerling, Building Alliances: gration’ rather than ‘assimilation’ to emphasize Collaboration Between CAUSA and the Rural respect for and incorporation of differences, the Organizing Project (ROP) in Oregon, (New importance of mutual adaptation, and an ap- York: New York University, Robert F. Wagner preciation of diversity.” See also a special issue Graduate School of Public Service, Research of the journal Nonprofit Quarterly, Summer, Center for Leadership in Action), http://wag- 2009, on private foundations and immigration. 18 CHAPTER 3

State and Local Governments Influence Integration Outcomes

Xóchitl Bada

Immigrant integration is one of the most over- In the absence of federal policies that ef- looked issues in U.S. governance and local fectively address the social integration of for- economic development. Currently, there is no eign-born legal residents, as well as the issue of national integration policy and local and state undocumented immigrants, state legislatures Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

governments face the need to design their own continue to tackle immigration issues in sev- programs to encourage immigrants to become eral arenas. In fact, immigrant-related legisla- civically engaged and participate more fully in tion introduced at the state level has increased their new societies. According to the American dramatically in the last five years. In 2005, ap-

CONTEXT MATTERS: Community Survey of 2007, 53 percent of proximately 300 bills were introduced and 45 the foreign-born population come from Latin passed state legislatures; whereas in 2009, ap- America. In this study we observed great varia- proximately 1,500 were being considered in all tion in state and local government policies 50 states with at least 222 laws and 131 reso- towards Latino immigrant integration. As a lutions being enacted in 48 states (see Figure general trend and regardless of size, cities with 1). In the last four years, enacted legislation re- historical traditions of Latino immigration, lated to immigrants has mostly been related to

such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Fresno, and identification/driver’s licenses, health,% employ- San Jose, are more likely to address the needs ment, human trafficking, law enforcement, of new Latino immigrants than places with public benefits, and education.3 smaller historical flows like Charlotte, Omaha, So far, the track record of state legislatures the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and for enacting immigration-related laws has pro- Las Vegas. In most cities with a previous his- duced a mix of progressive integrating policies tory of Latino immigration, it is relatively com- and anti-immigrant enforcement laws aimed mon to find bilingual services, legal services, or at cracking down on undocumented immigra- modest government-sponsored programs to tion and curtailing immigrants’ basic rights. welcome immigrants.1 The only exception is Unfortunately, the media have overlooked Tucson in the state of Arizona, one of the eight some of the proposals designed to promote states across the nation that has enacted puni- immigrant integration. In an analysis of 1,059 tive anti-immigrant legislation.2 immigration-related bills and resolutions introduced in state legislatures in 50 states in 2007, In 2005, Illinois enacted the New Americans researchers found that legislations expanding Initiative, a bipartisan initiative aimed at facili- immigrant rights were enacted at a higher rate tating immigrant integration across the state. (19 percent of 313 bills) than policies contract- Among other things, the initiative seeks to ing immigrants’ rights (11 percent of 263 bills; encourage citizenship acquisition among eli- 19 see Figure 2). gible permanent residents, provides funds for

In 2007, one year after the massive im- English-language instruction, and establishes CONTEXT MATTERS: migrant mobilizations of 2006, states with an Office of New Americans to coordinate the largest foreign-born populations, such as policies, actions, planning, and programs of California, New York, and Texas were more state government with respect to immigrant likely to introduce legislation to expand immi- integration and the impact of national immigrant rights, regulate human trafficking, and gration policy. The first director of this office Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities address integration policy and the provision was a naturalized Mexican immigrant who had of language-access services than legislatures in previously been president of the Federation of new destination states, such as South Carolina Michoacán Hometown Associations in Illinois, and Nevada, where bills contracting immi- a thriving immigrant organization with a bina- grant rights were the most popular type of tional civic engagement agenda. measure introduced. Finally, 60 bills expand- This state government office consults regu- ing the rights of immigrants were enacted that larly with local immigrant organizations to de- year and only 3 percent of the bills designed termine the best strategies to improve services to expand immigrants’ rights were rejected by for immigrant families in the areas of language legislators.4 This trend is highly consistent with instruction, citizenship acquisition, civic en- our observations in the nine cities included in gagement, healthcare access, childcare, educa- the study. tion, bilingual services, and workforce devel- In the six states and the District of opment. Recognizing that immigrants from Columbia, where our study’s cities are lo- Latin America comprise half of the foreign- cated, we found a wide spectrum of state born population in the state, Illinois enacted government responses to Latino immigrant the Latino Family Commission in 2007, which integration—ranging from punitive measures works as a consulting body to improve and ex- in Arizona to integrative policies in California pand existing policies, services, programs, and and Illinois. One key finding was that policy opportunities for Latino families. is often shaped by the breadth of organizing One important outcome of the new pro- efforts. Cities with long histories of Latino integration strategies was the inauguration of immigration and pro-immigrant local and the first Illinois Welcoming Center in Melrose state legislation have more vibrant Latino-led Park, a Chicago suburb where many Latino immigrant organizations, which are interested immigrants have settled in the past decade. in creating synergies with local and state gov- However, the economic recession and related ernment, as well as increasing participation state budget cuts stopped plans for opening in the areas of: education, housing, health, new centers. workforce development, voter registration, The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and English-language acquisition, and citizenship Refugee Rights (ICIRR), a Chicago-based advo- workshops. cacy organization, was instrumental in the implementation of the New Americans Initiative lation went from 36 percent in 1990 to 77.4 (NAI), serving as the liaison between the gov- percent in 2000. ernment and hundreds of local immigrant and In general, our study found that large cities faith-based organizations in the state. tend to be more tolerant towards Latino im- ICIRR is currently coordinating a non- migrants in comparison to medium-size and 20 profit partnership with the state to help eligible smaller urban areas. A good case in point is the immigrants become naturalized citizens with somewhat integrative immigration policies en- free assistance. According to Luvia Quiñones, acted by the District of Columbia, compared to former assistant director of the NAI, the pro- some counties in the metropolitan area, includ- gram has processed 39,000 applications since ing Prince William and Loudoun counties in its inception, assisting thousands of Latino, Virginia, and Frederick County in Maryland. Polish, and Asian immigrants. Despite the na- Local immigration policies often become more tional visibility of the program and its great restrictive the farther a community is from success in increasing the number of naturalized the metropolitan core.7 Some of these coun- citizens in the state, demand is greater than ties have experienced rapid foreign-population available resources. By 2009, the program had growth in the past decade or two—with little only been able to help approximately 10 per- prior immigration—and some communities cent of those eligible to apply for citizenship.5 have decided to address this problem by enact- Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Since the program started, ICIRR has re- ing anti-immigrant campaigns. For example, in ceived $3 million per year in state funds to the state of Virginia, in the absence of compre- finance the citizenship programs of various hensive immigrant integration policies, anti- community-based organizations across the immigration organizations, such as Help Save state. However, given the effect of the current Fairfax and Help Save Herndon, have been es- CONTEXT MATTERS: economic recession on the state budget, the tablished as a response to contextual changes, citizenship program might face a 60-percent such as increased demographic diversity.8 budget cut.6 Indeed, the rapid increase of immigration- In the summer of 2009, acknowledging related state laws introduced across the country the discrimination experienced by Mexican in the last four years has shown a bifurcated immigrants and naturalized U.S. citizens of pattern of integration and immigrant exclu- Mexican ancestry who came to Illinois and sion, where newer areas of settlement have the Midwest in the early twentieth century, promoted fewer integrative measures com- Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate bill 1557, pared to areas of traditional settlement where a law requiring U.S. history courses in K-12 strong immigrant associations are present. For education throughout the state to include instance, the state of Pennsylvania—a state information about the Mexican repatriations considered a relatively new destination for during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Latin American immigrants—is home to 32 The initiative was sponsored by Illinois State of the 104 proposed local anti-immigrant or- Senator William Delgado (D-Chicago) and dinances.9 Throughout the country, at the mu- the initiative was publicly announced in the nicipal level, 74 pro-immigrant ordinances had fall by Governor Quinn during a special been passed while only 55 restrictionist ones event at Morton East High School, located in had been approved as of July of 2007 (see Table Cicero, a Chicago suburb whose Latino popu- 1). Nevertheless, at the national level signs generally point to an increased interest by local The ordinance drew protests from immi- governments to enact legislation and programs grant advocates in the community and from aimed at integrating immigrants more fully some neighboring cities. In 2009, Waukegan’s into local communities. Democratic mayor lost reelection in part due to In 2008, the National League of Cities the unprecedented turnout of the Latino com- 21 (NLC), a coalition representing 19,000 cit- munity, which was motivated to punish him ies across the nation, launched the Municipal for perceived anti-immigrant policies under his CONTEXT MATTERS: Action for Immigrant Integration (MAII), a watch. According to an analysis conducted by new program aimed at assisting local officials in ICIRR, in the ten Waukegan precincts with the managing the challenges posed by immigrant highest percentage of Latino voters, those who integration. The two main components of the voted for the incumbent mayor fell from 70 program are city-level naturalization campaigns percent four years prior to 37 percent.12 This Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities and citizenship community initiatives to help is not an isolated case. Elsewhere, the notori- local officials develop tailored action plans for ously anti-immigration mayor of Hazelton, immigrant integration. In Littleton, CO, the Lou Barletta (R), failed in his bid to unseat NLC collaborated with city officials to imple- long-time Democrat, Paul Kanjorski (D), in ment an Immigrant Integration Initiative. In Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District, May 2009, this initiative won a $50,000 “E after his city passed an ordinance seeking to Pluribus Unum” award offered by the National punish employers who give jobs to undocu- Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, man- mented immigrants, as well as landlords who aged by the Migration Policy Institute, in rec- rent to them. The city was sued by the Puerto ognition of its success.10 Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and a In addition to demographic city profiles, federal district court struck down the ordinance local political orientations might also behave as with a significant cost to the city in legal fees. important predictors for immigrant integration In general, it seems that regardless of political policies. A recent study shows that municipali- party, anti-immigration policies are not always ties with Republican governments are twice an ironclad guarantee for electoral victories. as likely as non-Republican ones to propose In cities with integrationist policies, we ob- restrictionist policies for immigrants and one- served the greater involvement of immigrant fourth as likely to propose pro-immigrant poli- organizations in several issues related to im- cies.11 However, there is variation within states, migrant integration policies. This is the case and we also found cities with Democratic for Chicago, a city with positive legislation governments adopting anti-immigrant ordi- protecting immigrants, including an ordinance nances. For instance, in the northern suburb of that prevents police and other city employees Waukegan, a city just 40 miles from Chicago, from asking questions related to immigration the city council passed an ordinance in 2003 status. This ordinance was approved just two setting a $500 fine for driving without a license weeks after the first massive protest of March or insurance and a $175 towing fee. The ordi- 10, 2006 drew thousands of immigrants to nance caused disproportionate harm to undoc- downtown to protest the Sensenbrenner bill umented immigrants, who, if they lack valid (HR 4437). Social Security numbers, cannot have driver’s The city of San Jose also has innovative licenses under Illinois law. policies to integrate immigrants, including a cultural proficiency initiative initiated by positive outcomes for immigrant integration the Santa Clara County Office of Human policies. However, there are a few emerging Relations. Since 1996, the county has offered trends visible in all cases with successful in- immigrant integration services, including free tegration plans sponsored by state and local citizenship days, educational programs, and a governments: 22 cultural proficiency initiative. In 2008, the free citizenship day was offered in nine different • Latino organizations build strong co- languages, including Spanish. According to alitions among diverse ethnic immigrant the office’s interim director, Teresa Castellanos, groups they began offering a loan program using funds from local private foundations to cover • Strong local ethnic media advocate for the citizenship application costs for eligible immigrant rights and disseminate key pub- low-income permanent residents after they lic information observed a drop in applications when naturalization fees increased. • Labor organizations sponsor and support In contrast, in the city of Charlotte, the immigrant integration programs 287g federal law enforcement program created a very hostile climate for immigrants.13 In • Latino and multi-ethnic organizations Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant this city, the immigrant community has been and coalitions engage with multi-issue improving its negotiating capacity with local agendas beyond comprehensive immigra- authorities. Strong advocacy from community- tion reform based organizations has increased their visibility and risen awareness among state legislators • Ethnically diverse inter-faith organiza- CONTEXT MATTERS: about the importance of sponsoring frequent tions join immigrant coalitions at the local citizenship days as a successful road towards level. civic engagement and political participation.14 In North Carolina, Latinos represented only The road towards increased immigrant in- 3 percent of the electorate in 2008, but their tegration through local and state government voter registration rates increased by 174 percent faces many obstacles. In addition, naturaliza- between 2004 and 2008.15 In 2009, Helping tion costs continue to rise, affecting Latino im- Empower Local People (HELP), a leading immigrants disproportionately due to their lower migrant advocacy organization in the area and average income levels compared to non-Latino a member of the Industrial Areas Foundation immigrants. Demand for English-language (IAF), organized a meeting of four-hundred instruction is higher than slots available na- Latino leaders to ratify a multi-issue agenda to tionally, and waiting lists are long despite gov- focus on healthcare access, education, driver’s ernment-sponsored initiatives. For example, licenses for undocumented immigrants, reform the state of Illinois has allocated $300,000 of the 287g law enforcement program, and to to expand English classes compared with the pursue comprehensive immigration reform. $15 million recommended by the We Want There are no special recipes that Latino-led to Learn English Initiative approved by the immigrant organizations can follow to attract Illinois state Senate in 2007.16 The number attention from governments and produce of available seats to study English as a second language in Illinois has actually dropped 20 immigrant integration. However, governments percent since 2002, in spite of the state’s New need to understand that without access to full Americans Initiative.17 citizenship rights, foreign-born residents from In the midst of an economic recession, state Latin America and elsewhere will be less likely and local governments need to reorient their to be civically engaged within their new societ- 23 priorities for budget planning and spend- ies and will not achieve their fullest potential as ing. Faced with difficult economic scenarios, workers, taxpayers, parents, and socially con- CONTEXT MATTERS: it might be tempting to delay investments in tributing citizens.

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities FIGURES and TABLES

Figure 1: State Legislation Related to Immigrants and Immigration, 2005-2009

2000

1500

100

500

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Bills introduced Laws enacted

Source: Author’s elaboration using data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, Immigrant Policy Project, Reports from 2004-2009. (*Includes only legislation submitted and enacted in the first half of the year). Reports are available at http://www.ncsl.org Figure 2: Number of Immigration-Related State Laws Introduced by Typology, 2007

Passed Expanding the 60 10 24 rights of immigrants Rejected

Contracting the 28 20 rights of immigrants

24 19 Regulating employment

Regulating law 30 18 enforcement and criminal justice

64 10 Other Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant 0 20 40 60 80

Source: Adapted from State Responses to Immigration: A Database of All State Legislation. Migration Policy Institute and New York University School of Law, 2007. Available at: www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/statelaws.cfm. For an explanation of the typology and examples of bills represented in each category, please refer to the methodology section of the database. CONTEXT MATTERS:

Table 1: Immigration-related ordinances proposed and passed at the municipal level as of July 2007.

STATUS OF AS A PERCENTAGE TYPE OF ORDINANCE NUMBER ORDINANCE OF TOTAL

PRO-IMMIGRANT Pending 1

Approved 74

Failed / Tabled 3

Subtotal 78 0.3%

RESTRICTIONIST Pending 29

Passed 55

Failed / Tabled 14

Subtotal 98 0.4%

NO ACTION 25,448 99.3%

TOTAL 25,622

Source: S. Karthick Ramakrishnan and Tom (Tak) Wong, “Immigration Policies Go Local: The Varying Responses of Local Governments to Low-Skilled and Undocumented Immigration,” (paper presented at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, February 21, 2008). notes series, Kate Brick, Michael Jones-Correa, and Audrey Singer, Local Goes National: Challenges and Opportunities for Latino Immigrants in the 1 A complete list categorizing immigration Nation’s Capital, Reports on Latino Immigrant policies by states can be found at “The Anti- Civic Engagement, No. 2, (Washington, DC: Immigrant Movement that Failed,” a report Woodrow Wilson International Center for 25 by the Progressive States Network, published Scholars, 2009).

September 2008 and available at http://www. CONTEXT MATTERS: progressivestates.org/ 8 However, some recent studies have found that local partisanship also plays an important role 2 It is likely that this is the reason there are in determining local policies towards un- fewer immigrant-led organizations in Tucson, documented immigrants. For example, see S. and those that exist devote all their time and Karthick Ramakrishnan and Tom (Tak) Wong, resources to defending immigrant rights at the “Immigration Policies Go Local: The Varying Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities border and fighting punitive policies, leaving Responses of Local Governments to Low-Skilled little time for grassroots organizing for other and Undocumented Immigration,” (paper issues. presented at the Woodrow Wilson International 3 For a comprehensive analysis of state laws Center for Scholars, February 21, 2008). related to immigration, visit the National 9 For a comprehensive analysis of immigration- Conference of State Legislatures’ Immigrant related local housing ordinances, see Jill Policy Project. They have compiled detailed Esbenshade et. al., “Division and Dislocation: statistics on laws related to immigrants and Regulating Immigration through Local immigration since 2005, which are available at Housing Ordinances,” (CITY Immigration www.ncsl.org. Policy Center, 2007). 4 Laureen Laglagaron et. al., “Regulating 10 To learn more about the Littleton, CO, Immigration at the State Level: Highlights Immigrant Integration Initiative, visit http:// from the Database of 2007 State Immigration www.connectingimmigrants.org/ For more on Legislation and the Methodology,” (New York: NLC programs, see their web page at www.nlc. Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on org/maii.aspx. Immigrant Integration Policy, October 2008), www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/state- 11 See S. Karthick Ramakrishnan and Tom (Tak) laws.cfm. Wong, “Immigration Policies Go Local: The Varying Responses of Local Governments 5 Maria Sacchetti, “Welcomed, Wearily,” The to Low-Skilled and Undocumented Boston Globe, August 13, 2008, http://www. Immigration,” (paper presented at the boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/13/ Woodrow Wilson International Center for welcomed_wearily. Using estimates from Scholars, February 21, 2008). the Census Bureau and the Department of Homeland Security, the New Americans 12 Mark Brown, “Waukegan mayor’s race proves Initiative estimates that there are 370,000 im- to Latino voters they can make difference,” migrants currently eligible to become citizens Chicago Sun Times, April 9, 2009. Available at: in the state of Illinois. http://icirr.org/en/node/3704. 6 Christopher Placek, “New citizens celebrate 13 For an analysis of 287g, see Report 6 in becoming an American” Daily Herald, July 3, the series, Xóchitl Bada, Oscar A. Chacón, 2009. and Jonathan Fox, Eds., Latino Immigrants in the Windy City: New Trends in Civic 7 For detailed information on local government Engagement. Reports on Latino Immigrant integration policies in the DC metropoli- Civic Engagement, No. 6, (Washington, DC: tan area and the demographic trends of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for foreign-born population, see Report 2 in this Scholars, 2010). 14 To learn more about citizenship days in 16 Maria Sacchetti, “Welcomed, Wearily” The Charlotte, see Report 1 in this series. Joyce Boston Globe, August 13, 2008, http://www. Deaton, Charlotte: A Welcome Denied. Reports boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/13/ on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, welcomed_wearily/. No. 1. (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson However, other legislation enabled the Illinois International Center for Scholars, 2008). 26 Community College Board to spend up to 15 President Obama’s winning margin in North $15 million on the We Want to Learn English Carolina was just 14,000 votes. See Owen J. Initiative. Furuseth and Eric S. Heberlig, “Mecklenburg 17 Christopher Connell, “Empty Promises: The County Latinos: Future Demographic and Unmet Need for English Instruction Across Political Dimensions.” From presentation deliv- Illinois,” [Illinois Coalition for Immigrant ered at launch of Charlotte: A Welcome Denied, and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Chicago, 2009], Levine Museum of the New South, Charlotte, http://icirr.org/en/immigrant-integration/icirr- NC, April 28, 2009. Available at: www.wilson- releases-groundbreaking-english-report/3783. center.org/migvaaaaaww rantparticipation. Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

CONTEXT MATTERS: CHAPTER 4 27 CONTEXT MATTERS: Spanish-Language Media’s Increased Role in Immigrant Integration

Xóchitl Bada

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities

One important actor that has become increas- The communications strategy of Ya Es Hora ingly involved in the promotion of Latino im- (YEH) is based on its catchy slogan, which de- migrant integration is the Spanish-language notes a sense of urgency. Higher naturalization media. The role played by radio disc jockeys fees and increased immigration law enforce- in mobilizing millions of immigrants to protest ment across the nation placed low-income and anti-immigrant legislation in 2006 exemplifies mixed immigration status families in a very the importance of ethnic radio and print media difficult situation. The constant threat of being in disseminating valuable public information arrested and placed in deportation proceedings to Spanish-dominant Latino immigrants. for a minor violation increased the sense of risk In our study, we find that cities with a his- among Latino legal permanent residents and torically established Spanish-language media encouraged many to pursue naturalization. structure tend to have strong partnerships be- The campaign received support from com- tween these media and service and immigrant munity-based organizations in Los Angeles advocacy organizations in the joint promotion and elsewhere and many service organizations of civic engagement. In the last two years, the quickly joined by becoming citizenship centers. most strategic and successful media-sponsored In the first year of operation, YEH managed to program has perhaps been the Ya Es Hora citi- enroll 300 organizations, operating more than zenship campaign (“Now’s the Time!”), an in- 400 citizenship centers and organizing 200 cit- novative Spanish-language media campaign izenship workshops. In addition, the campaign involving the National Association of Latino network distributed 100,000 naturalization Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), guides advertising them though public ser- Univision Network, the Service Employees vice announcements in television, radio, and International Union (SEIU), La Opinión, print media.1 In 2008, a second phase of the Impremedia, the National Council of La campaign was implemented to increase voter Raza, and several community-based organiza- registration and electoral participation and the tions. Launched in Los Angeles in 2007, the message was shifted to Ya Es Hora: ¡Regístrate! campaign quickly extended to cities in Texas, (Now’s the Time: Get Registered) and Ya Es Florida, and New York. Hora: ¡Ve y Vota! (Now’s the Time: Go and campaign when the Nevada Democratic Party Vote). selected Emilia Pablo Montaño, a Oaxaca-born Ya Es Hora is the most visible naturalization Univision news producer, as its press secretary. campaign created and implemented by non- Providing coverage of local, national, and in- governmental actors using Spanish-language ternational events, ethnic language media offer 28 and ethnic media as the main vehicles to reach Spanish-dominant Latino immigrants oppor- out to Spanish-dominant Latino immigrants. tunities to become aware of the current issues It takes advantage of the vast Spanish-language and debates that are affecting them in places of network and solid structure of hundreds of origin and destination. community-based organizations with good Charlotte is a new destination city for many track records as providers of citizenship ser- Latin American immigrants. There are few vices available in cities such as Los Angeles. Spanish-language newspapers with a long tra- However, in many cities and towns, Latino-led jectory, but market share competition and an immigrant organizations did not have access to increasing demand for news in Spanish have well-established Spanish-language media with resulted in more publications. The majority solid track records as public service providers. of Spanish-language newspapers are owned by Among the cities studied in this project, Latino immigrants in Charlotte. The oldest for example, Las Vegas does not have many is El Progreso Hispano, a biweekly newspaper Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Spanish-language newspapers and radio sta- established in 1993 by an Ecuadorian immi- tions and very few media outlets are Latino- grant that keeps a permanent online section on owned. Established in 1980, El Mundo is the the citizenship exam. Here, the readers find a oldest Latino-owned newspaper, and it pro- complete question-and-answer guide for the vides occasional community service announce- naturalization exam in English and Spanish. CONTEXT MATTERS: ments. During the 2007 presidential primaries, Mi Gente, Qué Pasa, and La Noticia are among El Mundo and Spanish-language news radio the newer publications and some also offer a station KRLV (1340 AM) offered their space commitment to contribute with immigrant to disseminate information about the caucus integration. For example, La Noticia was es- process. The radio program, “Miguel por la tablished in 1997 and quickly became the larg- Mañana,” conducted weekly interviews with est Spanish-language paper anywhere between the members of Hispanics in Politics (HIP), Washington, DC, and Atlanta, GA, with an and El Mundo ran weekly advertisements estimated 90,000 readers per week. Its mission aimed at attracting Latino immigrant voters. is to provide readers with news about their new Univision and Telemundo were very active in home and serve as a “bridge of communication the caucus process, providing valuable infor- between them and the community at large.”3 It mation to viewers. The second-largest Spanish- offers news in several formats: Internet, radio, language newspaper in Las Vegas is El Tiempo, print, and two magazines, including one on and in 2007 it collaborated with the local Latino parenting. The paper also has a chari- Univision affiliate to offer a joint discussion table foundation offering small scholarships to segment between the newspaper editor and low-income Latino students interested in going the news anchor about relevant local news.2 to college. La Gente is one of the newest media In August 2008, local Spanish-language media and it also has a community-service compo- became quite visible during the presidential nent. Established in 2002, this newspaper prints frequent public service announcements notes encouraging people to participate in immigration reform through phone, e-mail, and letter 1 To learn more about Ya Es Hora, see David campaigns to their local, state, and federal rep- Ayón, “Mobilizing Latino Immigrant resentatives. Integration: From IRCA to the Ya Es Hora 29 Spanish-language media have the potential Citizenship Campaign, 1987-2007,” Research to become one of the most important actors Paper Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and CONTEXT MATTERS: in immigrant integration. Ownership issues Political Participation, No. 1, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center sometimes limit the spaces a newspaper can for Scholars, January 2009). Available at www. devote to public announcements or to encour- wilsoncenter.org/migrantparticipation. For age Spanish-dominant immigrants to become more on the role of radio during the immigrant civically engaged in their new communities. mobilization campaign, see Ricardo Ramírez, Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities However, in some of the cities included in the “Mobilization en Español: Spanish-language study, it seems that many Latino immigrant Radio and the Activation of Political Identities” in Kim Voss and Irene Bloemraad, eds., entrepreneurs are choosing to follow innova- Rallying for Immigrant Rights, (University of tive practices in the ethnic media business to California Press, forthcoming). contribute to the civic and political incorpo- 2 For more about the role of Spanish-language ration of Spanish-speaking residents in many media and Latino political engagement in communities across the nation. Las Vegas, read Report 4 in the series. John P. Tuman, “Latin American Migrants in the Las Vegas Valley: Civic Engagement and Political Participation,“ Reports on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, No. 4, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2009).

3 La Noticia’s full mission is available at www. lanoticia.com/Pages_E/aboutus.htm 30 CHAPTER 5

Church Commitment Matters

Xóchitl Bada

Faith and religiosity are important values in According to a Pew Research Center phone Latino immigrant lives, and religious institu- survey conducted in late 2006, foreign-born tions consistently play a key role in the im- Catholic Latinos were almost twice as likely to migrant integration process. Foreign and say they participated in a protest or demonstra- Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

U.S.-born Latinos share a deep religious com- tion, compared with their native-born coun- mitment shown through high levels of church terparts (31 percent versus 16 percent). This attendance and volunteerism. For instance, survey also finds that “regardless of religious in an analysis of the 2004 National Survey of tradition, foreign-born Latinos indicate they

CONTEXT MATTERS: Latinos, researchers found that churches were participated at higher rates compared with the the largest single recipient of Latinos’ volun- native-born. Among foreign-born evangelicals, teer time, thus playing “a critical role in creat- for example, almost one-in-four (24%) say ing social resources and community bonding they participated, compared with 13% among … [they] provide a place in which Latinos/as the native born.”3 make social connections, gain skills, and receive To partially explain this trend, it is impor- encouragement to become involved in other tant to remember that Latin American im- sectors of their communities.”1 According to migrants come from countries with a long survey data, regardless of nativity, Latinos who tradition of mass protests and mobilizations volunteer regularly in church-related activities for different social justice agendas, including are significantly more likely to volunteer at peasant rights, electoral rights, and religious non-church activities.2 Therefore, for Latinos, freedom, among others. For instance, in 2006, participating actively in a church is correlated the spring immigrant marches preceded a mas- to civic engagement in different spaces, such sive popular mobilization in Mexico protesting as school or tutoring programs, neighborhood the results of the presidential elections. In fact, organizations, business or community groups, in late summer 2006, Mexican leaders of the and ethnic organizations. broad coalition demanding a recount in the However, when observing rates of Latino presidential election toured the United States engagement in street protests across reli- visiting several Mexican migrant organizations gious denominations, place of birth matters. seeking solidarity with their pledge. Regardless of religious affiliation or nativ- health fair was offered for the community at ity, being active in a religious congregation this church. In our interviews with Latino im- seems to encourage further civic engagement migrants actively engaged with their churches, among Latinos. In our study, we also found we commonly found that they were simulta- several overlaps among immigrant participa- neously engaged in volunteer work in their 31 tion in churches and other areas of civic en- new congregations, as well as in churches from gagement. Institutional church commitment communities of origin, while also contributing CONTEXT MATTERS: to provide culturally appropriate services and to hometown associations in Las Vegas.4 support to Latino immigrants varies across cit- Another example of church involvement in ies and religions. Church support for promot- immigrant integration is found in Charlotte. ing Latino immigrant incorporation at the The level of commitment among different local level sometimes depends on the capacity religions, denominations, and congregations Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities of migrant-led community organizations to varies a lot. However, because of the unify- make those demands to church leaders or on ing work recently done by Helping Empower the maturity of churches’ organizational struc- Local People (H.E.L.P.), an inter-racial and in- tures for reaching out to immigrant groups and ter-faith community-based organization, many building pro-immigrant ecumenical alliances more congregations have become interested in and coalitions. supporting immigrant integration. In the city In the case of Las Vegas, the level of sup- of Charlotte, membership in specific congrega- port offered by evangelical congregations to tions helps define your ethnic identity, as well Mexican, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran im- as your position within the city’s hierarchical migrants is due in part to the engagement of power structure. Latino immigrants are the some pastors in the affairs of the communities most recent newcomers to this thriving finan- of origin of members of their congregations, as cial center, and Catholic and Protestant con- well as in their new communities of residence. gregations have recently become more engaged For example, Iglesia Amistad Cristiana is an with issues of immigrant rights. evangelical congregation whose presence in the In his experience working as commu- Mexican state of Hidalgo dates back to 1962. nity organizer for H.E.L.P. in Charlotte, Amistad Cristiana now has 128 branches, in- Chris Bishop observes a great expansion of cluding five in Nevada and California. Its first the Latino Catholic population in the local congregation in the United States began in diocese, as well as active efforts by evangeli- 1978 in Las Vegas and the current pastor now cal churches to initiate Latino ministries in offers Mass in the indigenous Otomí language. the city.5 The services offered by mainline Each of their five Sunday masses attracts about Protestant congregations to promote the inte- 200 participants, mostly indigenous people gration of Latino immigrants have been so far from the state of Hidalgo. This pastor has been largely limited to English-language classes and active in helping day laborers from his congre- music lessons; however, evangelical Christian gation to defend their worker rights, advising congregations are by far the most active in the them about labor laws, and referring them to Latino immigrant community. While Latino labor organizations, among other activities. immigrants are largely affiliated to the Roman In July 2009, in collaboration with the “Sí Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, at the parish Se Puede” Latino Democratic Caucus, a free level the Catholic Church does not seem to be playing a leading role in promoting the ganizations to promote immigrant integration. civic and political incorporation of Latino im- In the long term, Protestant and Catholic insti- migrants. At the national level, by contrast, tutional commitment to support civic and po- the Catholic Church has shown great insti- litical integration programs and strategies will tutional support in favor of comprehensive be very important to keep Latino immigrant 32 immigration reform. Inspired by a pastoral communities civically engaged in cities large letter about migration, issued jointly by the and small. Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States in 2003, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops launched the Justice for notes Immigrants Campaign in 2005, a national strategy to promote immigrant integration 1 Edwin I. Hernández et. al., “Faith and Values across all dioceses. 6 However, local support in Action: Religion, Politics, and Social for the initiative has been uneven. In the case Attitudes Among US Latinos/as” Research Reports, (Notre Dame, Ind.: Institute for Latino of Charlotte, there has been no coordination Studies, University of Notre Dame. Vol. 1, of efforts between the parishes and the local 2007), http://latinostudies.nd.edu/cslr/pubs. campaign coordinator assigned to promote php, p. 24. this initiative. As a result, few parishes and Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

2 Ibid. p. 23 congregations are actively engaged in immigration issues. 3 Pew Research Center, Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion, So far, the most successful implementation (Washington, DC, 2007), p. 63. of the Justice for Immigrants Campaign at the local level has been displayed in Los Angeles, 4 Binational cooperation among church leaders CONTEXT MATTERS: and migrants dates at least as far back as the and it is quite possible that success there is time of the Cristero War (1926-1929). For directly correlated with the vast network of an account of the support offered by Mexican community organizations that already existed migrants, exiles, and refugees in the United in the city before this initiative was launched.7 States to the supporters of the Cristeros, see For Latino immigrants, support from priests Julia Young, Mexican Emigration During the is sometimes crucial to determine their deci- Cristero War, 1926-1929 (Ph.D. Dissertation in History, University of Chicago, 2009). sion to volunteer or engage in non-church- related activities.8 However, some immigrants 5 For more on the institutional role of churches mobilized in cities where widespread Catholic as promoters of immigrant incorporation in Charlotte, see Chris Bishop, “¿Sí Se Puede? Church support was absent. This was the case Immigrant-Led Political Activism in Charlotte, in Las Vegas, Omaha, and Charlotte, where a North Carolina: One Community Organizer’s fledging social infrastructure had slowly devel- Perspective,” Research Paper Series on Latino oped in the last decade.9 Immigrant Civic and Political Participation, Overall, Latino immigrants are actively en- No. 2, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson gaged in their U.S. churches and this participa- International Center for Scholars, 2009), p. 7. tion subsequently motivates them to become 6 See http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/ civically engaged in different local issues affect- 7 For a case study of the Journey of Hope ing their new communities of residence, some- Campaign in Los Angeles, see Luisa Heredia, times creating ethnic faith-based advocacy or- “‘Welcoming the Stranger’: The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Immigrant Rights 9 In an analysis of the organizational structure in Los Angeles,” Research Paper Series on Latino of 32 cities participating in the immigrant Immigrant Civic and Political Participation, mobilizations of 2006, Gustavo Cano suggests No. 4, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson that institutional support from the church or International Center for Scholars, 2009). lack thereof was crucial in motivating people to attend rallies and marches in small cities with 8 For instance, the National Coalition of 33 limited organizational infrastructure and fewer Latino Ministers and Christian Leaders possibilities of massive advertising through CONTEXT MATTERS: (CONLAMIC), an organization based in Spanish-speaking radio and local media. See Washington, DC, that claims to represent Gustavo Cano, “Political Mobilization of 20,000 evangelical churches, has organized a Latino Immigrants in American Cities and the national campaign to boycott the 2010 Census, US Immigration Debate,” Working Paper Series, asking pastors to tell parishioners not to fill (New York City: Institute of Latin American

the census forms unless there is a legalization Studies, Columbia University, 2009), http:// Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities program for undocumented immigrants. For ilas.columbia.edu/images/uploads/workingpa- more information about this boycott, visit pers/Gustavo_Cano-_Political_Mobilization_ CONLAMIC webpage at http://www.con- of_Latino_Immigrants_in_American_Cities_ lamic.org and_the_US_Immigration_Debate.pdf. 34 CHAPTER 6

Union Presence is Key Where It Is Present

Xóchitl Bada

In the last decade, organized labor attitudes fewest labor organizations engaged in im- towards immigrants have changed drastically. migrant integration, while those living in Before 2000, labor unions often saw immi- Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas had more grant workers as enemies, finding them respon- opportunities to participate in unions and re- Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

sible for depressing wages and breaking strikes. ceive immigration-related services sponsored However, in early 2000, this attitude changed by traditional and non-traditional labor orga- and the American labor movement decided to nizations. While unions still attract the largest demand an end to employers’ sanctions and an segment of Latino immigrants, independent 1

CONTEXT MATTERS: amnesty for undocumented immigrants. The worker centers have also become an important labor movement has since experienced some organizing strategy for low-wage Latino immi- structural transformations, but has kept a uni- grant workers.3 At the national level, Latinos fied voice in favor of some form of legalization represented 10.6 percent of the total union for undocumented workers already living in the membership in 2008.4 In 2006, on average country. In the last decade, some unions have foreign-born Latinos in Los Angeles showed devised special programs to help immigrant significantly lower union membership rates members become naturalized U.S. citizens and than native-born ones (9.7 percent vs. 18.5 encourage voter registration and electoral par- percent) (see Figure 1), although this city has ticipation among increased rosters of Latinos. shown a considerably higher union density rate For instance, according to a recent telephone than the state of California and the country as survey, an estimated 247,000 members of the a whole in the past two decades.5 The active Service Employees International Union (SEIU) involvement of unions and worker centers in identified themselves as from Mexico—45 per- Los Angeles has been instrumental in the cre- cent of the union’s Latino membership.2 ation of solid immigrant rights coalitions since In the cities included in our study, we ob- the 1980s. served a positive correlation between union- In the last decade, Latino immigrant orga- ization rates and organized labor involvement nizations in Los Angeles, San Jose, Chicago, in immigrant integration programs. Latin and Las Vegas have created important coali- American immigrants in Charlotte had the tions with traditional and non-traditional labor organizations to promote civic engage- lighting. The most visible case of union sup- ment among Latino members, regardless port to defend basic worker rights is exempli- of immigration status.6 For instance, many fied by the now extinct Republic Windows and labor organizations encourage both legal and Doors factory, which attracted worldwide at- undocumented members to participate in tention in 2008.8 When the owner attempted 35 get-out-the-vote campaigns. For those mem- to fire all workers without offering severance bers who quality for U.S. citizenship, some pay, the workers discussed a strategy with their CONTEXT MATTERS: unions sponsor citizenship workshops to help representatives at the United Electrical Workers members become naturalized citizens. In Los Union (UE) and unanimously voted to occupy Angeles, SEIU is a member organization of the the factory in a case that brought headlines and “We are America Alliance” and of the “Ya Es support from President-elect Obama. The fac-

Hora” campaign, while the Culinary Workers tory’s labor force was mostly immigrant, with Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities Union in Las Vegas provides free naturalization 75 percent of workers representing several services, organizes bilingual workshops to ex- Latin American countries. However, for these plain the caucus process prior to an election, workers this was not the first time they par- and encourages members to register to vote. ticipated in a solidarity movement. Three years The Culinary Workers Union, with 60,000 prior to the factory occupation, the workers members, has 45-percent Latino membership, negotiated permission from the management including foreign and native-born Latinos, and to march on May 1 to support immigrant it played a central role in the Las Vegas march rights in Chicago’s downtown. When faced in 2006, as well as in the hotly contested 2008 with the important decision of whether to fight Democratic presidential primary. their unjust termination, the union backed the In the city of San Jose, SEIU Local 1877 workers’ decision to occupy the factory. has been quite visible in the last two decades In the weeks and months following the oc- due to its successful Justice for Janitors cam- cupation, community support was steady and paign to bring better wages for Latino immi- more than 1,000 people, including local immigrant workers in the area. In the late 1980s, it grant activists, hometown associations, faith- began to hire more Spanish-speaking Latino based organizations, and Spanish-language organizers and created important coalitions media visited the workers. The workers eventu- with churches, associations, local government ally received severance pay and inspired many officials, and pro-immigrant organizations. others to demand lawfully mandated severance More recently, SEIU participated in the cam- packages in similar cases across the nation, as paign to get driver’s licenses to undocumented well as in Canada, Argentina, and Ireland. workers in California and played an important Finally, the Chicago Restaurant Opportunities role in the immigrant mobilization of 2006 as Center (ROC) is the latest addition to the list of a founding member organization of the San community-based worker centers serving both Jose Immigrant Rights Coalition.7 foreign- and native-born workers in the city.9 In Chicago, unions and independent Launched in the fall of 2008 as an affiliate of worker centers participated in the March 10th ROC United, the organization is locally repre- Movement and frequently support Latino im- sented by José Oliva, a Guatemalan immigrant migrants in important battles against abusive with a long history of labor organizing among employers. Some specific cases are worth high- Latino immigrants in Chicago.10 Chicago-ROC Figure 1: Unionization Rates by Selected Places of Birth, Los Angeles, California, and the United States, 2006

20.3% Philippines-born 22.6% 17.8% 36 China, Taiwan, or 8.9% Hong Kong-born 10.8% 7.5%

10.5% South America-born 8.4% 5.8%

8.4% United States Central America-born 13.9% California 13.1% Los Angeles

7.7% Mexico-born 11.7% 12.1%

10.2% All foreign-born 13.3% Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant 12.4%

12.8% United States-born 20.9% 20.8%

CONTEXT MATTERS: Source: Ruth Milkman and Bongoh Kye, “The State of Unions in 2008: A Profile of Union Membership in Los Angeles, California and the Nation,” (Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, September 2008), http://www.irle.ucla.edu/research/pdfs/unionmembership08-color.pdf.

is devising strategies to increase Latino immi- ROC has commissioned a large sample survey grant membership and for that purpose, it offers of restaurant workers in the Chicago metro area bilingual trainings in bartending and upscale and is currently disseminating its findings to the dining workshops to help workers gain specific media and to local restaurant workers with the language skills to move towards higher-paying help of committed members and local advocacy positions within the industry. In the first year, organizations.12 they have registered 230 new members. ROC’s As we have seen in the cases described in model combines research and policy work this section, in cities where labor organizations with high-road restaurant worker organizing11. have clout, they provide crucial support for Besides educating workers about their rights Latino immigrant civic engagement, as well as and promoting workplace justice, ROC is ad- increased awareness of their rights as workers vocating in favor of two pieces of legislation, the regardless of their immigration or citizenship Healthy Families Act, which would provide res- status. Yet in cities where labor is either weak, taurant workers with up to seven paid sick days or its base is primarily limited to non-Latino per year; and an increase in the $2.13 federally U.S. workers, such as Fresno, Tucson, or mandated minimum wage for tipped workers. Charlotte, unions have not been major players With support from ROC United, Chicago- in the immigrant civic participation process. notes 7 For more details on the historical role of SEIU in San Jose, read Report 7 in the series. For an analysis that compares the political contexts of 1 Steven Greenhouse, “Labor, in Switch, Urges Justice for Janitors organizing campaigns in San Amnesty for All Illegal Immigrants,” The New Jose and Sacramento, see Preston Rudy, “‘Justice York Times, February 23, 2000, A23. for Janitors,’ Not ‘Compensation for Custodians.’ 37 2 Elizabeth O’Connor, SEIU, personal commu- The Political Context and Organizing in San Jose nication to Jonathan Fox, January 14, 2010. and Sacramento” in Ruth Milkman and Kim CONTEXT MATTERS: Voss, Rebuilding Labor: Organizing and Organizers 3 For more on worker centers see Janice Fine, in the New Union Movement, (Ithaca: Cornell Worker Centers: Organizing Communities at the University Press, 2004). Edge of a Dream, (Ithica: Cornell University Press, 2006). 8 For more details on this landmark case, see

Kari Lydersen, Revolt on Goose Island. The Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities 4 Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Union Members Chicago Factory Takeover, and What it Says in 2008”, (January 2009), www.bls.gov/news. About the Economic Crisis, (New York: Melville release/union2.nr0.htm. House Publishing, 2009); and the forthcoming 5 Ruth Milkman, L.A. Story. Immigrant Workers documentary, Workers’ Republic, by filmmaker and the Future of the U.S. Labor Movement, Andrew Freund. A director’s cut of the docu- (Russell Sage Foundation, 2006), 147; and mentary was screened in the fall of 2009 at Casa Ruth Milkman and Bongoh Kye, “Union Michoacán as a fundraiser for the local chapter Membership in 2006: A Profile of Los Angeles, of the International Socialist Organization. California and the U.S.,” (Los Angeles, 9 To learn more about Chicago ROC, visit CA: Institute for Research on Labor and http://www.rocunited.org/affiliates/chicago. Employment, University of California, Los Angeles), www.irle.ucla.edu/research/pdfs/ 10 Prior to this position, José Oliva served as unionmembership06-bw.pdf. director of the onetime Latino Worker Center (now called Arise) at Chicago Inter-faith 6 To learn more about immigrant rights coali- Worker Justice, an ecumenical national net- tions including labor organizations in Los work established in 1996. Angeles, see Report 5 in the series. Gaspar Rivera-Salgado and Veronica Wilson, 11 High-road labor organizing goes beyond Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote: Latino unionization. It emphasizes low unemploy- Migrant Civic Engagement in L.A., Reports ment, living wages, job-training, investment in on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, local businesses, and regional self-sufficiency No. 5, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson among other short- and long-term goals. International Center for Scholars, 2009). 12 Chicago ROC Advisory Board meeting, July 15, 2009. 38 CHAPTER 7

Immigrant Youth Are Emerging Actors

Xóchitl Bada

The participation of Latino youth in the im- mented and undocumented Latino immigrant migrant mobilizations of 2006 is a welcome youth took to the streets to exercise their right addition to the list of actors who played a vis- to protest, a highly civic act that offers lots of ible role in the success of the marches. In many hope for the future of Latino political and civic Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

cities across the nation, high school and college engagement. In some cases the youth leaders students joined the protests in solidarity with emerging from the wave of protests did not friends and families using different strategies have previous experience in community orga- to gain visibility as a group. For instance, high nizing, but had useful social networking skills.

CONTEXT MATTERS: school students organized walkouts to protest To get their message across different schools the Sensenbrenner bill while others dissemi- and neighborhoods, they used MySpace, nated information about rallies and immigrant Facebook, voicemail, and mobile text messages rights using the Internet and mobile devices.1 to disseminate fundraising events, meeting The hundreds of young Latinos involved con- points for attending marches, strategies to cir- sisted of U.S.-born citizens, permanent resi- cumvent school attendance policies, and other dents, foreign-born naturalized citizens, and relevant information.3 In contrast to the acts of unauthorized residents. They all shared the disobedience displayed during the civil rights common goal of demanding dignity and re- movement of the 1960s, Latino youth protests spect for all immigrant workers. were remarkably orderly. Nonetheless, some In many of the cities included in our study, students faced harsh disciplinary sanctions at we found an emerging Latino youth organiz- school after walkouts. ing network led by both U.S.- and foreign- In the case of Chicago, youth were overrep- born immigrants. It is well-documented that resented at the immigrant May Day marches low income and minority youth are less likely in 2006 and 2007. According to a survey of to engage in political and civic activities due, marchers conducted by researchers at the in part, to little encouragement in the public University of Illinois, Chicago, more than half school system and the pressures of working of respondents were young people, between to help their families with extra income.2 Yet, 14 and 29 years old. Of those, over two-thirds during the 2006 spring mobilization, docu- were U.S. citizens.4 After the marches, some local organizations supported the creation of Immigration Youth Justice League) is now try- new alternative spaces for Latino youth expres- ing to share its experience while learning new sion where they could decide their own social strategies from similar groups across the na- justice agendas and organizing priorities. tion.8 In the city of Chicago, El Zócalo Urbano In Dallas, a city with a Latino foreign-born 39 and Batey Urbano are two examples of emerg- population estimated at more than a quarter- ing Latino youth organizations with broad million in 2007, Latino high school students CONTEXT MATTERS: social justice agendas including immigrant organized several walkouts in March 2006. rights, neighborhood preservation, and cul- According to The Dallas Morning News, on tural expression.5 In 2006, some members of March 27, a group of 4,000 students walked El Zócalo Urbano went to Mexico City and out of high school, and the message was spread met with legislators and community leaders to through postings on MySpace, e-mails, and Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities obtain binational support for the May 1 eco- text messages. Latino high school students sent nomic boycott in an attempt to build cross- messages inviting their peers to attend a large border alliances.6 rally to protest anti-immigrant legislation at In late 2009, a broad coalition including Kiest Park and at city hall.9 The high turnout high school and college youth united to stop of the student walkout became an inspiration the deportation of Rigo Padilla, a Mexican leading to a massive demonstration in April student attending the University of Illinois at with a crowd of 350,000, according to conser- Chicago (UIC). They held organizing meet- vative estimates. ings to devise best strategies to fight for his In San Jose, Latino youth joined the case at Casa Michoacán, UIC, and Radio Arte, Immigrant Rights Coalition and the experi- a Latino youth-led local radio station. With ence taught them valuable lessons and skills on logistical and organizational support from the social justice organizing. The experience of par- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee ticipating in massive protests to demand immi- Rights (ICIRR), many students—both docu- grant rights prompted some energetic Latino mented and undocumented—staged ral- immigrant students to establish more formal lies in front of city hall, encouraged online organizations, such as Student Advocates for petitions to the Immigration and Customs Higher Education (SAHE), a local group that Enforcement (ICE) agency using Facebook, emerged after the marches of 2006 to sup- enlisted the support of local and national uni- port undocumented high school and college versity professors, and expressed their support students, bringing visibility to their cause and for the DREAM Act. The case was temporar- helping them overcome isolation and margin- ily resolved on Human Rights Day (December alization. 10) when ICE announced they would delay Due to difficulties faced when analyzing Rodrigo Padilla’s deportation for one year.7 differences between documented and undocu- Although limited in scope and without pro- mented immigrant youth, the organizing strat- viding a long-term solution for Mr. Padilla’s egies of the latter group were more challeng- legal status, this victory offers a lesson about ing to map. Latino undocumented youth are a the power of broad coalitions involving young very vulnerable group in this country, one that activists for immigration reform. The fledging faces the constant threat of deportation and is coalition of student activists (the brand new frequently uninterested in becoming visible in local communities. However, despite the in- International Center for Scholars, 2009). surmountable challenges that undocumented And for Las Vegas, John P. Tuman, Latin Latino youth face to get ahead in American American Migrants in the Las Vegas Valley: Civic Engagement and Political Participation, Reports society, there are a few groups which have on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, created safe spaces to increase their civic and 40 No. 4, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson political engagement. One important issue for International Center for Scholars, 2009). these groups is defending their right to receive 4 Ibid. an education beyond high school and to obtain a path to legalization. Their visibility in 5 For more on Zócalo Urbano and Batey Urbano, visit www.elzocalourbano.net and the public square is still modest but thanks to www.bateyurbano.org. clever strategic alliances and coalitions with pro-immigrant allies, undocumented youth 6 Nilda Flores-González, “Immigrants, Citizens or Both? The Second Generation in the have found some outlets for self-expression and Immigrant Rights Marches,” in Amalia Pallares self-representation and are steadily forming a and Nilda Flores-González, eds., ¡Marcha! new social movement.10 Latino Chicago and the Immigrant Rights Movement (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, forthcoming). 7 For more on Rigo Padilla’s case, see Julia Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant notes Preston, “Illegal Immigrant Students Publicly Take Up a Cause,” The New York Times, online 1 Many cities across the United States experi- edition, December 10, 2009. enced student walkouts during the 2006 im- 8 For more on the creation of this new coalition, migrant demonstrations, including Las Vegas, see Antonio Olivo, “Chicago students step up CONTEXT MATTERS: Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. debate on immigration reform,” The Chicago 2 To learn more on the challenges and oppor- Tribune, online edition, January 18, 2010. tunities faced by Latino youth in Chicago 9 Holly Yan, Tawnell D. Hobbs and Paul Meyer, for engaging in immigration protests, see “Classrooms clear out for immigration protest,” Nilda Flores-González, “Immigrants, Citizens The Dallas Morning News, March 28, 2006. or Both? The Second Generation in the For more on the role of My Space in political Immigrant Rights Marches,” in Amalia Pallares organizing for immigration reform, see Ari and Nilda Flores-González, eds., ¡Marcha! Melber, “My Space, My Politics,” The Nation, Latino Chicago and the Immigrant Rights April 30, 2006. Movement (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, forthcoming). 10 To learn more about the civic engagement of undocumented Latino youth in the United 3 For more about youth strategies to engage States and their emerging organizations with immigrant rights in Washington, DC, and networks, see Hinda Seif, “The Civic and Las Vegas see reports 2 and 4 in the series. Education and Engagement of Latina/o For Washington, Kate Brick, Michael Jones- Immigrant Youth: Challenging Boundaries Correa, and Audrey Singer, Local Goes National: and Creating Safe Spaces,” Research Paper Challenges and Opportunities for Latino Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and Political Immigrants in the Nation’s Capital, Reports Participation, No. 5, (Washington, DC: on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, Woodrow Wilson International Center for No. 2, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Scholars, 2009). CHAPTER 8 41 CONTEXT MATTERS: Citizenship Trends: Growing R ates but Persistent Lags

Jonathan Fox

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities

The issue of whether to regularize or expel the numbers increased sharply between 1995 and undocumented has long dominated the immi- 2005. During this period, according to leading gration debate. This sense of urgency on both demographer Jeffrey Passel:1 sides is understandable, yet it has had the effect of “crowding out” the question of the status of • Among the major sending countries and the permanent resident population. Millions regions, new citizens from Latin America of permanent residents are eligible for citizen- grew the most in number, rising by nearly ship, yet have not taken that step. In principle, 2.4 million over the ten-year period. one could imagine that both sides of the debate over the undocumented could be able to • The nearly 1.6 million naturalized citi- agree on the importance of encouraging full zens from Mexico now outnumber those citizenship for those already eligible. Without from any other single country; a decade question, they have “played by the rules,” yet earlier, the Philippines ranked first. they remain unrepresented, which challenges basic assumptions about a democratic society. • The naturalized population from Mexico Notably, critics of unauthorized immigration grew the most rapidly of any large country have yet to take up the cause of encouraging or region, 144 percent over the decade. the full integration of legal immigrants, which undermines the credibility of their frequent Many who had regularized their status dur- claim that they are not opposed to immigra- ing the amnesty promoted under the Reagan tion per se, but rather are primarily concerned administration became eligible for citizenship about upholding the rule of law. during the 1990s. The gap between naturaliza- By 2005, citizenship rates for legal immi- tion rates for Latin Americans and immigrants grants had reached their highest level in a quar- from other regions closed substantially between ter century, 52 percent. While Latin Americans 1995 and 2005. historically had lower rates of naturalization The conventional approach to analyzing than immigrants from other regions, for rea- variation in naturalization patterns focuses sons that are still not well understood, their on differences across national origin. This approach suggests that differences in national mitments of time, energy, money—as well as political cultures are a key factor in explaining perceived risk.5 At the same time, another per- naturalization decisions. While citizenship de- ceived barrier has been substantially lowered cisions certainly are influenced by the political in recent years; since a Mexican constitutional cultures that immigrants bring with them, their reform in 1996, there has been a substantial 42 perception of access to the citizenship process softening of the once-dominant view that seek- may also be strongly influenced by their level ing U.S. citizenship was an act of disloyalty of formal education. Indeed, the citizenship and would lead to a loss of rights in Mexico. exam is a de facto literacy test. Command of Mexico’s official recognition of the legitimacy the English language is also relevant, which in of dual nationality has made U.S. citizenship turn is influenced by social class and access to more attractive to those immigrants who want quality language instruction.2 Access to reliable eventually to return.6 legal support is also crucial for immigrants to An approach that focuses on the demo- trust that they can navigate the process suc- graphic or cultural characteristics of the immi- cessfully. Indeed, researchers know remarkably grants themselves also leaves out the possibility little about what factors determine applicant of change over time. The post-2006 spike in success rates. While there is official data on citizenship suggests that immigrant motiva- success rates in the citizenship test, these fig- tions can indeed change quickly. The number Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant ures underestimate the overall non-completion of applications doubled during fiscal year 2007 rate, which is likely to be substantially higher.3 (ending September 30), reaching 1.4 million The conventional emphasis on national petitions. How many of these applicants man- origin as the key variable explaining citizenship aged to complete the process in time to vote decisions among permanent residents could be in 2008 is not yet clear, given the substantial CONTEXT MATTERS: described as the “national political culture” ap- backlog. 7 proach. This approach involves an additional While immigrants certainly have varying assumption, which is that the main determi- motivations regarding the citizenship process, nant of citizenship decisions is the motivation access to supportive institutions may turn of immigrants themselves. This approach as- out to be a key factor allowing those who are sumes a highly voluntaristic “model” of natu- motivated to move forward. One of the most ralization decision-making, and does not ac- powerful indicators of the limitations of the count for the role of institutional barriers, such “national political culture” approach is the as limited access to affordable language instruc- fact that rates of naturalization among eligible tion or reliable legal aid. Mexican permanent residents vary dramatically Motivations also interact with perceived by state and county of residence in the U.S. barriers, which are especially relevant insofar as Table 1 presents official data on the percent- ethnographic research indicates that the natu- age of eligible Mexican permanent residents ralization examination process is perceived to who had become citizens as of 2004 (limited be highly unpredictable, at least by Mexican to those who had become residents beginning immigrants.4 In contrast to the implied cul- in 1985). While Illinois and California showed turalist-voluntaristic approach, naturalization rates of 31.3 percent and 27.9 percent, respec- decisions can be understood as investments by tively, New Mexico only had a 16.5-percent immigrant families, involving substantial com- citizenship rate, and only 20.4 percent of eligible Mexicans, who had gained their residency in just one year, as shown in Table 2. This in Texas, naturalized. The data show similar 58-percent increase over 2007 reflects immi- ranges of variation across counties within states. grant decisions made in 2006 and 2007, in While San Francisco had a rate of 37.9 percent a polarized environment of broad mobiliza- of citizenship among eligible Mexican-born tion both for and against immigrant rights, 43 permanent residents, and Los Angeles reported and against the backdrop of sharply increased

33.6 percent, California’s Central Valley coun- administrative fees and a new citizenship CONTEXT MATTERS: ties fell in the 15-to-17-percent range.8 This test.11 The 2007 and 2008 citizenship figures pattern of variation by a factor of two, both also show a remarkable increase in the Latin across and within states, for the same national American share of those increased numbers origin group, appears to rule out the “national of new citizens, rising from an approximately political culture” explanation and instead sup- one-third share from 2002 to 2005 to reach Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities ports the proposition that “context matters” 51 percent in 2008. This meant more than for explaining immigrant civic engagement half a million new potential voters of Latin decisions.9 American origin in 2008. During this same The numbers of new citizens rose sharply period, the Mexican share of new citizens al- in 2008, reaching more than one million most doubled, reaching 22 percent in 2008.

Table 1: Geographic variation in Mexican naturalization patterns, 200410

Total Mexican Total Total not Percentage State LPRs 1985-1999 Naturalized Naturalized naturalized

Arizona 115,118 23,692 91,426 20.6%

California 1, 8 5 7, 7 17 517, 5 94 1,340,123 2 7.9 %

Colorado 40,220 8,867 31,353 22.0%

Florida 74,356 12,844 61,512 17. 3 %

Illinois 225,970 70,632 155,338 31.3%

Nevada 33,906 9,226 24,680 27.2%

New Mexico 48,513 7,9 9 7 40,516 16.5%

North Carolina 18,213 2,781 15,432 15.3%

Texas 715,119 146,212 568,907 20.4%

Total in these states 3,129,132 799,845 2,329,287 26%

Mexican Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) by Selected States, Fiscal Year Granted LPR Status, from 1985 to 1999, and Naturalization Status by 2004 Table 2: Growing share of new citizens of Latin American origin, 2002-200812

New U.S. citizens New U.S. citizens Total Total new U.S. of Latin American of Mexican YEAR new U.S. citizens of and Caribbean origin origin citizens Mexican origin 44 (%) (%)

2002 573,708 35.7 13.3 76,531

2003 463,204 34.1 12.1 56,093

2004 573,151 33.9 11.9 63,840

2005 604,280 36 12.8 7 7, 0 8 9

2006 702,589 39 12.0 83,979

2007 660,477 42.5 18.5 122,258

2008 1,046,539 51.2 22.2 231,815 Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

Note: The category of “New citizens of Latin American and Caribbean origin” was constructed by subtracting the Canadian new citizens from the North American category, which also includes Caribbean, Central American, and Mexican immigrants, and then adding them to the South American category. Source: Immigration Statistics, Department of Homeland Security. For detailed citations, see note 12. CONTEXT MATTERS: While the numbers of new citizens have Again, context matters been growing faster than the numbers of new permanent residents, a huge backlog of eli- How and why eligible permanent residents de- gible immigrants persists. As Table 3 shows, cide whether to engage in the citizenship pro- official U.S. government estimates indicate cess remains poorly understood. Yet the avail- that at least 2.7 million Mexico-born legal per- able evidence suggests that the context within manent residents had not yet become citizens which they make these decisions matters. as of 2007. This means that the almost one How many permanent residents have access quarter of a million Mexican-origin immi- to sources of orientation that are both reliable grants who became new citizens in 2008 ac- and are perceived as credible, to guide them counted for less than 10 percent of that year’s through the process? For example, are public total pool of potential new citizens of Mexican resources available to make English-language origin. This suggests the need for a broad re- and civics classes available to low-income im- assessment of the determinants of citizenship migrants who want to learn? How far away are decisions. Those interested in promoting citi- the classes located, how large are they, and how zenship among permanent residents could use long is the waiting list? Are the citizenship tests new research tools that could address not only demonstrably consistent, and are they per- motivations, but also perceived barriers in the ceived by immigrants as fair? naturalization process. Table 3: The persistent stock of citizenship-eligible legal permanent residents (LPRs), 2002-200713

Total estimated Total estimated number Eligible Mexican LPRs number of YEAR of Mexico-born among all eligible citizenship-eligible citizenship-eligible LPRs LPRs (%) LPRs 45

2002 7,840,000 2,364,000 30.1 CONTEXT MATTERS:

2003 7,900,000 2,400,000 30.2

2004 8,000,000 2,400,000 29.8

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities 2005 Official data not available

2006 8,250,000 2,650,000 32.1

2007 8,150,000 2,750,000 33.7

2008 Official data not available

Note: Official estimates of the numbers of Latin American LPRs eligible for citizenship are not available. Source: Immigration Statistics, Department of Homeland Security. For a detailed citation, see note 13.

At least for the past decade, the federal that today’s immigrants are not learning government has taken a laissez faire approach, English or becoming “like us” as they used both to immigrant integration in general and to, the traditional indicators—English-lan- to the promotion of citizenship in particular. guage acquisition, workforce participation, Few state governments have tried to fill the homeownership, military service, civic par- gap. With the exception of modest federal ticipation, and intermarriage—make it clear spending on adult education, the integration- that immigrants continue to do what they related costs of civic education, cross-cultural have always done: become Americans rela- communication, learning English, and legal tively quickly. We’re getting an enormous aid have been borne either by the immigrants return on a tiny investment.14 themselves or by private institutions and local governments. As Murguia and Muñoz put it: In contrast, in the years immediately following the 1986 immigration reform, the fed- Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about eral government made a $4 billion investment the integration of immigrants in this nation in immigrant integration.15 These funds en- of immigrants is just how much it is being couraged a wide range of partnerships between done by the immigrants themselves, with a state and local governments and non-profit minimum of effort by government or society organizations that engaged with diverse im- at large. Despite widespread hand-wringing migrant communities. The substantial increase in citizenship for the IRCA generation, com- solidarity and synergy of the classroom coun- bined with steady increases in voter turnout teract and perhaps trump the negative emo- and other indicators of civic engagement, all tions that have long discouraged the process among Mexican immigrants.” See Felix, 611. suggest that this investment subsequently paid off. The prospects for closing the gap between 6 Note that the Mexican government’s recent 46 flexible stance towards those who become eligible legal residents and new citizens in the U.S. citizens does not extend to residents future will depend heavily on whether or not of Mexico who become Mexican citizens. the federal government makes immigrant inte- The required oath requires that new citizens gration a policy priority in the future. state that they “renounce their nationality of origin… to take on, with full responsibility, notes the rights and obligations that come with Mexican nationality.” See Rosa Elvira Vargas, “Demandan ONG a Fox derogue el TLC con 1 Jeffrey Passel, “Growing Share of Immigrants la Unión Europea,” La Jornada (Mexico City), Choosing Naturalization,” Policy Report, March 1, 2005, 3. (Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, 7 See Julia Preston, “Surge Brings New 2007), www.pewhispanic.org. Immigration Backlog,” The New York 2 For a brief review of the literature, see Austan Times, November 23, 2007; and Miriam Goolsbee. “Legislate Learning English? If Jordan, “Paper Jam May Curb Latino Vote: Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Only It Were So Easy,” The New York Times, Citizenship Drive Drew More Applications June 22, 2006. than U.S. Can Process,” Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2008, A4. 3 This proposition is based on the experience of the Citizenship Project in California’s 8 Because of this huge regional lag in political Monterey County in the 1990s, which revealed representation of legal immigrants, statewide CONTEXT MATTERS: the substantial share of applicants who did not politics in California is sharply biased by the get as far as the test, even with some degree of persistent minority rule in the Central Valley. institutional support from the project (personal 9 More precise analysis of citizenship trends communication, Paul Johnston, former direc- is limited by the puzzling fact that little rel- tor, Citizenship Project, September 24, 2009). evant data is made public by U.S. Citizenship 4 There is a basis for the perception that natu- and Immigration Services. More public access ralization processes can put residents’ legal to data on citizenship trends would help status at risk. See Julia Preston, “Perfectly public and private agencies concerned with Legal Immigrants, Until They Applied for immigrant integration to target their efforts Citizenship,” The New York Times, April 12, more effectively. In the case of this study, 2008, A1. access to national origin citizenship data, disaggregated by state and county, was made 5 See Adrián Félix, “New Americans or possible once at the discretion of a generous Diasporic Nationalists?: Mexican Migrant government statistician. However, the official Responses to Naturalization and Implications data discussed here does not extend beyond for Political Participation,” American 2004 because this openness was not subse- Quarterly, Volume 60, No. 3, September quently repeated. 2008, pp. 601-624. His extensive participant- observation in southern California citizenship 10 Source: Department of Homeland Security, classes in 2006-2007 found that following the Office of Immigration Statistics, 2005. marches they had become “alternative public Published in Xóchitl Bada, Jonathan Fox, and spaces,” within which citizenship decisions Andrew Selee, Eds., Invisible No More: Mexican became a form of collective action, where “the Migrant Civic Participation in the United States, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Annual Flow Report (Department of Homeland International Center for Scholars, 2006). Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, March 2008), http://www.dhs.gov/files/statis- 11 The impacts of the new citizenship test are not tics/immigration.shtm. yet clearly understood. For background, see a corresponding report by the Migration Policy 13 Source for Table 3: Nancy Rytina, “Estimates Institute. Migration Policy Institute, “High of the Legal Permanent Resident Population 47 Stakes, More Meaning: An Overview of the and Population Eligible to Naturalize in 2003,” CONTEXT MATTERS: Process of Redesigning the US Citizenship Population Estimates, Department of Homeland Test,” Immigration Backgrounder, no. 6, Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, for (September 2008), http://www.migrationinfor- 2003-2008, http://www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/ mation.org/integration/. immigration.shtm. 12 Sources for Table 2: Nancy Rytina and 14 Janet Murguía and Cecilia Muñoz, “From

Chunnong Saeger, “Naturalizations in the Immigrant to Citizen,” The American Prospect Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities United States: 2004,” Annual Flow Report (October 23, 2005), http://prospect.org/cs/ (Department of Homeland Security, Office articles?article=from _immigrant_to_citizen, of Immigration Statistics, June 2005), http:// [reprinted in Michael Fix, Ed., Securing the www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/immigration.shtm. Future: US Immigrant Integration Policy, A Also see John Simanski, “Naturalizations in Reader (Washington, DC: Migration Policy the United States: 2006,” Annual Flow Report Institute, 2007). (Department of Homeland Security, Office 15 Doris Meissner, “Learning From History,” The of Immigration Statistics, May 2007), http:// American Prospect (October 23, 2005), http:// www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/immigration/ prospect.org/cs/articles?article=learning_from_ shtm. Also see James Lee and Nancy Rytina, history. “Naturalizations in the United States: 2008,” 48 CHAPTER 9

From Civic to Political Participation

Andrew Selee

The protest marches of 2006 played an impor- greater political activism. The popular chant in tant role in building alliances among Latino the 2006 marches, “today we march, tomorrow immigrants and other traditional elements of we vote,” appears, in good measure, to have U.S. civil society, including established Latino come true. Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

organizations, immigrant advocacy networks, It is hard to measure accurately the degree labor unions, business associations, and po- to which the marches themselves—and the litical leaders. While some predicted that mas- broader debate on immigration law—have sive waves of protest would continue, recent spurred political activism, but there is little

CONTEXT MATTERS: marches have tended to be much smaller. But doubt that this has increased dramatically over if 2006 was a watershed for protest, it ap- the past decade and at an especially rapid rate pears that it also served as a catalyst for higher in the past four years. Latino voting registration naturalization rates (see previous chapter) and surged 24.7 percent from the 2004 to the 2008

Table 1: Racial and Ethnic Composition of Voters, 1992-2008

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008

White (non-Hispanic) 84.6 82.5 80.7 79.2 76.3

Black 9.9 10.6 11. 5 11 12.1

Hispanic 3.8 4.7 5.4 6 7. 4

Asian 1.2 1.6 1.8 2.3 2.5

Source: Mark Hugo Lopez and Paul Taylor, Dissecting the U.S. Electorate, the Most Diverse in U.S. History (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2009), 3. presidential election and voting rose 28.3 per- the vote among Latino voters may well have cent.1 Over the twelve-year period from 1996 helped secure a small margin of victory.3 He to 2008, Latinos went from being 4.7 percent enjoyed a particularly enthusiastic following of the electorate in presidential elections to 7.4 among Latino voters under the age of 30, 76 percent, and almost a tenth of those eligible to percent of whom voted for Obama (compared 49 vote (see Table 1).2 This rise in Latino voting to 54 percent and 95 percent among white and was largely, though not exclusively, driven by African-American voters under the age of 30, CONTEXT MATTERS: the rise in immigrant voters. respectively).4 Similarly, President George W. In some states, the importance of the Latino Bush’s ability to remain competitive among vote has become particularly noticeable. New Latino voters in several states in 2004 may well Mexico, Texas, California, and Florida lead have helped him win that election. This weight the nation in registered Latino voters, with 15 of Latino voters is likely to increase even more Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities to 36 percent of the population in each state in the next national elections in 2012 and have (Table 2). However, in the 2008 elections, an impact on the future composition of the perhaps the greatest impact of Latino voting U.S. Congress.5 was in states with smaller Latino populations There has also been a significant rise but more divided electorates. It was in states in Latino elected officials throughout the like Nevada, North Carolina, New Mexico, United States. According to statistics from the New Jersey, Virginia, and even Indiana where National Association of Latino Elected and President Barack Obama’s ability to get out Appointed Officials, the number of Latino

Table 2: States with Highest Percentage of Registered Latino Voters, 2008

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

New Mexico 31.9 3 7. 7 33.8 30.4 36.9

Texas 21.3 23.4 22.4 22.3 24.1

California 14.7 16.8 17. 3 18.7 21.9

Florida 11. 4 12.5 11. 2 11. 7 15.7

Arizona 16.2 13.4 14.2 16.8 14.2

Nevada 7. 4 8.4 8.6 10.2 11. 4

New York 7. 5 8.2 8.7 8.4 9.9

New Jersey 5.5 6.6 8.1 7. 4 9.6

Colorado 10.2 9.3 8.8 10 9.2

Illinois 4.4 5.2 5.3 5.5 6.3

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports. Table 3: Latino Elected Officials by Level of Office: 1996 and 2007

Level of Office 1996 2007 Change (%)

50 Federal 17 26 52.9 Statewide Officials 6 6 0 (including Governor)

State Legislators 156 238 52.5

County Officials 358 512 43

Municipal Officials 1,295 1,640 26.6

Judicial/Law Enforcement 546 685 25.5 Officials

School Board/Education 1,240 1,847 49 Officials

Special District Officials 125 175 40 Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Total 3,743 5,129 37

Source: National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund, “A Profile of Latino Elected Officials in the United States and Their Progress Since 1996” (2007), http:// www.naleo.org/downloads/NALEOFactSheet07.pdf. CONTEXT MATTERS:

elected officials has jumped 37 percent from immigrant communities and political parties. 1996 to 2007. There have been particularly The long history of Mexican-American po- dramatic increases—of around fifty percent— litical influence in Los Angeles has also helped among state legislators and school board offi- Latin American immigrants move into the cials (see Table 3). political process. The importance of Latino immigrant po- Both Los Angeles and Chicago have seen litical influence has been especially notice- successful recent campaigns for voter registra- able in some of the cities addressed in this tion organized by immigrant-led and Latino study. Both Los Angeles and Chicago, for organizations. Perhaps the most significant example, have a significant number of immi- campaign in its scope was the Los Angeles- grant Latino leaders in elected and appointed based (though eventually national) “Ya Es positions of authority. Both cities are histori- Hora” campaign organized by media and advo- cal immigrant gateways. In Chicago the his- cacy organizations. Chicago’s New Americans tory of immigrant-based coalition politics Initiative, organized by the Illinois Coalition undoubtedly has helped Latino immigrants for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, similarly move more quickly into the political process encouraged thousands of Latino immigrants to than other cities with fewer linkages between register to vote. In Las Vegas, Latino immigrants have ben- groups. Even in areas of substantial historical efited from the relative fluidity of political immigration from Mexico, such as Fresno and coalition-building in what is a relatively recent San Jose, it has not always been easy for Latino and dramatically expanding city. Unions in Las immigrants to gain a significant foothold in Vegas have provided a critical link to politics the political process. 51 for many immigrant citizens. There are cur- However, this frustration is also evident in rently two Latino state legislators who repre- the cities where there is a long history of Latino CONTEXT MATTERS: sent mostly Latino immigrant neighborhoods, immigration and where some progress has been and one is actually a Mexican immigrant who made, such as Las Vegas and the Washington, received much of his initial support from im- DC, metropolitan area. Immigrant leaders migrant-led organizations in the city. often point to the diversity of the Latino im-

In Washington, DC, in contrast, Latino immigrant community which makes it hard to Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities migrants are far more dispersed but have taken build durable coalitions among Latino voters. advantage of the region’s diversity to build co- Others noted that the recent arrival of so many alitions with other groups. Two state legislators Latino immigrants means they are only starting in Maryland and a county board member (and to test their political influence, and the relative former board chairman) in Arlington, VA, are economic disadvantage of many marginalizes Salvadoran immigrants. All have won election them from active political participation. Still by building coalitions that go far beyond Latino others note that the lack of legal status of many voters and incorporate other immigrant groups Latino immigrants creates a barrier for full po- as well as African-American and white voters litical inclusion and undermines the possibili- in their districts. It is noticeable, however, that ties for greater political influence. Latino immigrants have had greater success in Indeed, while the weight of Latino voters Maryland than in Virginia and Washington, is clearly increasing dramatically—and the DC, largely, it appears because one of the po- marches in 2006 have undoubtedly helped litical parties has explicitly reached out to the spur many into greater political activism—the growing Latino immigrant community in lack of legal status for so many Latino immi- Maryland while there has been less direct at- grants is likely to limit the potential for ex- tempt to incorporate this new political force in panding this influence in the future. Unlike in the other two jurisdictions. past decades, when immigrants naturally pro- Despite these advances, Latino immigrant gressed from civic to political participation and leaders across the country reflect frustration political parties actively sought to expand their at the lack of political weight that matches the bases by reaching out to new voting popula- size and importance of the community itself. tions, a large proportion of Latino immigrants This frustration is particularly evident in cit- have no hope of becoming full participants in ies where Latino immigration is relatively more American society. recent, such as Charlotte and Omaha, where Unless there is some form of immigration political leaders have been slow to respond to reform legislation that includes provisions for the needs of immigrant communities. In some legalization of status, there will continue to cities, such as Tucson, the weight of anti-immi- be a significant mismatch between the impor- grant political forces appears even to outweigh tance of Latinos in American society and their the emerging influence of Latino immigrant weight in politics. Without that, many of the traditional mechanisms that allowed immi- Historic 2008 Elections, (New York: Vintage, grants to integrate into American society as 2009); “Power in Numbers: Hispanics,” The both civic and political actors will never work Economist, January 7, 2010, 394, Iss. 8664, 31. in the ways they did in the past. 4 Scott Keeter, “Young Voters in the 2008 Elections” (Pew Center for the People and the 52 Press, November 12, 2008). notes 5 One estimate suggests that Latino voters make up a significant share of the growth in 5 of the 1 Mark Hugo Lopez and Paul Taylor, Dissecting 8 states likely to pick up congressional seats the U.S. Electorate, the Most Diverse in U.S. after reapportionment in 2010. See the report, History (Washington, DC: Pew Research The New Constituents: How Latino Population Center, 2009), 3. Growth Will Shape Congressional Apportionment after the 2010 Census (Washington, DC: 2 Ibid., p. 3. America’s Voice, November 2009). Available at: 3 Chuck Todd and Sheldon Gawiser, How http://www.americasvoiceonline.org/pages/the_ Obama Won: A State-by-State Guide to the new_constituents. Accessed March 8, 2010. Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

CONTEXT MATTERS: CHAPTER 10

Civic Engagement and Political Participation in Nine Cities 53 Robert Donnelly CONTEXT MATTERS:

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities

This section contains summaries of the nine city CHARLOTTE, NC1 reports that comprise the project. These cities are: Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Fresno, CA; Located in the Deep South, Charlotte is a Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Omaha, NE; compelling case study in Latino immigrant San Jose, CA; Tucson, AZ; and, Washington, civic engagement. For most of its history, the D.C. The full city reports in both Spanish and city’s population has been made up of native- English are available on the project website at: born African-Americans and whites, with lim- www.wilsoncenter.org/migrantparticipation. ited international immigration for most of Each synopsis focuses on three core issue the twentieth century. Until recently this has areas that influence Latino immigrant civic meant little government experience integrat- engagement and political participation. These ing sizeable non-English-speaking populations, issue areas are: the local history and politics as well as lower demand for Latino immigrant of immigration, the economic and other chal- social services as compared to other U.S. cities. lenges that Latino immigrants face, and the role Yet this changed between the 1990 and 2000 of institutions. The synopses also seek to unify censuses when the Charlotte metropolitan area the different cities in the study by examining became one of the country’s fastest-growing the cross-cutting issues that intersect them. in terms of both its Latino and foreign-born Among others, these include: 1) the role of populations.2 local governments and institutions, including Charlotte represents a challenging loca- the media, labor unions, and faith-based orga- tion for Latino civic engagement and politi- nizations; 2) the context and location of immi- cal participation. The spread of immigrants grant settlement (urban vs. suburban vs. rural); throughout the expansive suburban metro- 3) Latino immigrants and other ethnic groups; politan area works against the concentration and, 4) local immigrant politics, including the of a dense, center-city community. And the prominence of Latino political leadership, the area’s relative per capita shortage of centers of presence of hometown associations, and the service provision means the absence of sites local Latino community’s involvement in the capable of consolidating into loci for politi- 2006 collective mobilization. cal activism and immigrant empowerment. In the arena of local politics, pre-existing In this context, what challenges exist for immigrant political networks still lack the enhanced Latino immigrant civic engage- capacity to be effective champions for new ment? The report, Charlotte: A Welcome generations of immigrants. And, geographi- Denied, identifies the need for deeper linkages cally, Charlotte also is at a political disadvan- and the building of common cause between 54 tage, considering its distance from the cen- African-American and Latino communities, ters of the national policy debate and from as a bridge to advance both groups’ objectives. the state capital of Raleigh, nearly 200 miles Additionally, the report stresses that though away. Within the Latino community, groups local elites have done much to integrate Latinos representing immigrant interests can be di- into the workforce, much less has been done vided by national origin, may be politically to integrate them as political actors and con- disinclined to join forces, and may lack the stituencies. Yet, going forward, it is this kind technical expertise necessary to make vi- of integration that is needed to make prosper able policy proposals.3 Still, such obstacles not only Latinos but the greater community aren’t insurmountable, as Charlotte’s Latinos of Charlotte. At the same time, the report also showed April 10, 2006, when they staged a notes that Latino immigrant organizations 10,000-strong rally as part of the nationwide need to do more to make their voices properly collective mobilization. heard in the halls of local government. Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Given that Charlotte’s population has traditionally been composed of two main ra- CHICAGO4 cial groups, the very recent arrival of large numbers of Latino settlers suggests a new Chicago is a unique example of Latino immi- demographic paradigm. Yet the prospect grant civic engagement. The city’s long history CONTEXT MATTERS: of large-scale Latino settlement touches off of international immigration, its deep traditions concerns among many non-Latinos who fear of community organizing and political activism, that cultural, linguistic, and other differences and its location far from the southern border will upset the existing social fabric. In fact, differentiate it in important ways from other Charlotte’s non-Latino residents, politicians, cities. In the pro-immigrant mega-marches of and institutions appear largely ambivalent on 2006 and 2007, Chicago’s distinction shone. the level of welcome the city should afford set- Its 2006 march was one of the country’s larg- tling immigrants, who typically are Mexican est, drawing 300,000 mainly U.S. citizens and or Central American, less well-educated than documented immigrants to protest HR 4437 the general population, lack English- and and the criminalization of undocumented per- in some cases Spanish-language proficiency, sons. The city’s 150,000-strong 2007 march and, for those over 25, are only half-likely to was singular for its size; it was far and away be high school graduates. Reflecting the city’s the country’s largest mega-march, though it overall ambivalence, mainline Protestant was less internationally diverse and comprised churches, as well as the Catholic Church, a majority of Mexican marchers (59 percent), have pursued service-oriented ministries, while in the previous year’s march only a large while avoiding a more proactive engagement plurality were Mexican (45 percent). In 2008, that could perhaps be interpreted as a politi- without the same kind of imminent legislative cal statement. threat posed by the Sensenbrenner bill, advocacy groups nevertheless mustered 25,000 its more welcoming atmosphere. As more im- demonstrators by their count to rally against migrant families have bypassed the traditional enforcement policies in a May 1 rally that was gateway city over the past two decades, tensions also the country’s largest that year. have sharpened between immigrants and pre- As contributor Amalia Pallares underscores dominantly white suburbanites, even if these 55 in this volume, in Chicago marching is impor- residents may themselves be recent emigrants tant. In fact, it may be a more meaningful ex- from the city or are the children or grandchil- CONTEXT MATTERS: pression of citizenship here than in other cities, dren of European immigrants. whose political and physical landscapes may As in other cities, differences among Latin work against regular and large-scale mobiliza- American immigrants from diverse countries tion actions. Marching distinguishes Chicago of origin may weaken the power of a cohesive and shows the effectiveness of the city’s im- Latino immigrant lobby. Additionally, there Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities migrant advocacy infrastructure, as well as this exists a continuing need to build common infrastructure’s resistance to national-level de- cause and engage more effectively with African- mobilization attempts, even after the halting of Americans and non-Latino immigrants, as con- the Sensenbrenner bill in 2006. Marching also tributors to this volume point out. Moreover, fits within a tradition in Chicago of direct and Chicago’s Latino immigrants face another hur- public political engagement by both citizens dle: the frequent incompatibility of civic and and non-citizens. In fact 74 and 69 percent of humanitarian efforts undertaken locally with marchers in 2006 and 2007, respectively, were the enforcement priorities and mandates of fed- U.S. citizens.5 eral authorities. The sanctuary case of Mexican Marching and preparing to march repre- immigrant Elvira Arellano is a notable example sent forms of participative democracy and of of this divergence. “substantive citizenship” that are especially Key institutions have shaped Latino im- accessible to Chicago’s Latino immigrants, migrant civic engagement in Chicago. contributor Judith Boruchoff notes. Yet be- Significantly, the family has taken a central sides marching, the city offers other unique role, becoming a locus for pro-immigrant ad- opportunities for immigrant civic engage- vocacy and activism. Through the strategies of ment. It gives non-citizens the right to vote popular mobilization, litigation, advocacy, and for and hold office on Local School Councils, sanctuary, advocates have attempted to elevate elected bodies that allocate budgets and hire the role and image of the family unit in the po- and fire principals, contributor Susan Gzesh liticized immigration debate, underscoring the points out. parent-child separation that is a consequence of Despite Chicago’s advantages—a sturdy ad- enforcement efforts. Another institution, the vocacy infrastructure, avenues for civic engage- local Democratic Party, has created new chan- ment for non-formal citizens, and a rich his- nels for Latino political participation, support- tory of immigration—Latino immigrants here ing some Latino candidates for office. However, still face challenges. Immigrants in the greater local powerbrokers in the 1980s and 1990s also Chicago metropolitan area—the inner suburbs stood accused of co-opting Latino causes and and peripheral “collar counties”—experience opposing candidates viewed as threats to the obstacles to integration that appear related to establishment. The Catholic archdiocese, for their physical distance from the center city and its part, has for decades functioned as a default support infrastructure for Latino immigrants have continuously worked to forge broader in Chicago, much as it has for prior and con- representation in the local policy process. tinuing generations of Catholic immigrants Any discussion of contemporary efforts from Europe, Asia, and Africa. to advance immigrant political participation Collectively, the city’s Latino networks, al- and civic engagement must take into account 56 liances, and coalitions have influenced immi- the region’s rich political history. Fresno is grant civic engagement and political partici- a birthplace for important Latino political pation. In recent years this infrastructure has movements in California. Mexican-American been strengthened by the nationwide efforts community-based organizations began to of the Chicago-based National Alliance of emerge in the late 1940s, and the Mexican Latin American and Caribbean Communities American Political Association, a base of sup- (NALACC) and by the growing involvement port for local Latino political candidates, was in local politics of the city’s predominantly established there in 1960. Its first president, Mexican hometown associations (HTAs)—as Edward Roybal, was later a U.S. congress- discussed in the introduction by NALACC man from Los Angeles. The Central Valley, of Executive Director Oscar A. Chacón and which Fresno is the largest city, has been the separately by contributor Rebecca Vonderlack- site of significant farm worker labor struggles Navarro. As Chacón notes, enforcement threats for decades, witnessing the rise in 1962 of the Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant have forced Mexican and Central American United Farm Workers, led by César Chávez. HTAs to recalibrate political priorities away In the 1970s, Latino politics were invigorated from community-of-origin concerns and to- by the Chicano movement, which linked po- ward greater engagement in local and national litical action to the assertion of ethnic identity, issues affecting immigrants. This shift has and led to the formation of a radicalized co- CONTEXT MATTERS: placed Chicago’s HTAs, as well as the commu- hort of Latino politicians and activists, whose nities of origin that are their partners in Latin legacy as an “Old Guard” continues to influ- America, “at the forefront of evolving patterns ence local politics. and practices of transnational civic engagement Concurrently, the presence of more women and political participation.” in migrant cohorts starting in the 1970s created a new impetus for long-term settlement FRESNO6 and for the acquisition of citizenship benefits for their children. In the 1980s implementa- Fresno County, CA, has been the site of long- tion of the Immigration Reform and Control term immigrant settlement and sojourn for Act (IRCA), which enabled the legalization of generations, having received Asian, Latin many undocumented persons, broadened the American, and internal U.S. migrants as farm base of local Latino constituents. The large- workers since the early twentieth century. With scale in-migration to the area of indigenous its population in 2008 almost half Latino, the Mexicans and the emergence of migrant lead- county represents a compelling case study that ers schooled in industrial labor organizing fur- shows the challenges and barriers that exist ther transformed the area’s political landscape even in an area of large Latino settlement, in the 1990s and beyond. More recently, im- whose immigrant-receiving traditions are en- migrant politics have been reinvigorated by the trenched, and where community-based efforts 2006 immigrant rights marches, in protest of federal legislation that would criminalize un- And linguistic, socioeconomic, and citizenship documented persons, as well as by community differences within the Mexican-origin popula- responses against federal immigration raids in tion prevent common agreement on political the Central Valley town of Mendota in 2007. goals, such as whether or not to support an im- At 2008, the County of Fresno’s popula- migrant guest worker program. Furthermore 57 tion was 48.2 percent Latino, 85.8 percent like other immigrants nationwide in “survival of which comprised individuals of Mexican mode,” Fresno’s migrant population, consist- CONTEXT MATTERS: origin—an overrepresentation characteristic ing of large numbers of seasonal farm workers of Latino communities throughout California and undocumented persons, may not place and the Southwest.7 Yet this high proportion political participation and civic engagement of Mexican-origin residents belies the county’s on the list of immediate priorities. For its part, diversity, as well as the dynamism of recent local government is routinely faulted with tak- Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities trends of Mexican immigration to the Central ing insufficient steps to integrate immigrants, Valley—marked by larger cohorts of non-na- for allowing policy to be guided by agricultural tive-Spanish-speaking migrants from Chiapas, interests, and for taking ambiguous stances on Oaxaca, Michoacán, and elsewhere. In fact federal immigration enforcement actions. Fresno’s Latinos live in immigrant, native-born, and mixed-status households; comprise both LAS VEGAS9 seasonal farm workers and middle-class second- and third-generation Mexican-Americans; and Las Vegas’ Latino population faces many of the include monolingual English, Spanish, and in- same obstacles that impede the civic engage- digenous-language speakers, as well as bilingual ment and political participation of Latino im- and multilingual speakers. At the same time, migrants nationwide. Economic hardship and the diversity of the population prompts ques- educational and language barriers work against tions on its unity as a community, as raised in formal political participation, and there are no the report, Latino Immigrant Civic and Political Latinos on either the city council or the Clark Participation in Fresno and Madera, California. County board of commissioners. At the 2006 Is the Mexican-origin community in Fresno midterm—the most recent election for which in fact unified politically? If so, what are the such data are available—Latino turnout in the binding forces? If not, what divides? Language? county was less than overall turnout at 39 per- Ethnicity? Cultural and political history? Legal cent versus 56 percent.10 However anecdotal status? And to what extent are Latino politics reports suggest that the number of Latino reg- distinct from immigrant politics? To what ex- istered voters has risen significantly in the in- tent do second- and third-generation Mexican- tervening period, and that the Latino vote was Americans identify as Latinos? decisive in winning Nevada for Democratic Despite its sizeable Latino population and presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008. its status as a birthplace for Latino politics in Statewide, even though only a few Latinos California, Fresno faces perhaps more barriers hold high office, the number of Latino office- to enhanced immigrant civic engagement and holders has remained steady over the most re- political participation than other California cit- cent election cycles. At 2008, there were two ies. Naturalization rates are low compared with Latinos in the state Assembly and one Latino other metropolitan areas,8 as is voter turnout. senator in Nevada’s 63-seat legislature—same as after the 2006 elections.11 Additionally, two Among major institutions—faith-based Latinos have held the post of attorney general organizations, universities, the media—labor over a similar period. Sitting Attorney General unions have been important protagonists of Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, was enhanced immigrant political participation. elected in 2006, following Republican Brian Culinary Workers Union Local 226, repre- 58 Sandoval, who was elected in 2002 and who senting restaurant, casino, and hotel workers, left the post to become a federal district court played a leading role in organizing a massive judge in 2005. rally on May 1, 2006, as part of the nationwide If for a variety of reasons Latino voter turn- collective mobilization. The rally drew to Las out has historically lagged overall voter turn- Vegas’ famed Strip thousands of immigrants, as out, Latino labor force participation has been well as non-immigrants, for an evening protest consistently high. In construction, food service, against the so-called “Sensenbrenner Bill,” fed- hospitality, and tourism, Latino immigrants eral draft legislation that would have criminal- predominate in the workforce and on union ized the undocumented. In the months after rolls, magnifying the population’s importance the protest, organized labor and the Democratic economically and politically. While economic Party, among other groups, sought to translate pressures frequently are conceived unilaterally the march’s energy and enthusiasm into more as barriers, the drive to advance economically conventional forms of political participation. Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant can also be viewed as a catalyst for enhanced Such efforts were credited with igniting inter- civic engagement, since it helps lay a prerequi- est in the Nevada caucus process, spurring new site foundation of economic security. As noted voter registrations for the 2008 general elec- by roundtable participants in the meeting that tion, and, according to some, playing a decisive inspired this report, “(o)nce their economic se- role in the state presidential vote. CONTEXT MATTERS: curity has been realized, immigrants feel that they are stakeholders in the community, lead- LOS ANGELES14 ing to more interest in citizenship.”12 Besides the typical obstacles confronting a Los Angeles County is nearly majority Latino population that is younger and poorer than the with almost three-quarters of this population average, immigrants in Las Vegas face bureau- of Mexican-origin,15 the West Coast capital of cratic and procedural hurdles that are blamed Spanish-language media, and headquarters to with discouraging formal political participa- powerful national labor and advocacy groups. tion. As discussed in the report, these barriers Originally part of Mexico, and for decades the include long processing times for applicants site of long-term settlement by Latin American and confusion over the naturalization process, and Asian immigrants, it is home to religious, including the fear that background checks and cultural, and civic institutions that have long decades-old misdemeanor violations could served immigrant and ethnic communities. In trigger deportation proceedings. Such obsta- recent decades, its service and relief infrastruc- cles may be particularly underscored in Clark tures have been tested by political adversity, County where a large percentage of the Latino including the fight over Proposition 187 in population—44 percent—is foreign-born and the mid-1990s and by the Sensenbrenner bill where demand for naturalization appears to in the mid-2000s, as well as by the increasing be growing.13 volume and diversity of Latin American in- migration (from Central America, southern more recent phenomenon, local governments Mexico, and of persons whose birth language are unwelcoming, and effective Latino lobbies is not Spanish). Its mayor is Latino, and Latino and networks are non-existent. officeholders are highly represented in local Key institutions—and coalitions of insti- politics. Perhaps as a consequence, the city is tutions—have played fundamental roles in 59 characterized by a welcoming attitude toward shaping Latino immigrant civic engagement immigrants and by a degree of accommodation in L.A. In 2006, spurred by concerns over the CONTEXT MATTERS: of undocumented immigration, notwithstand- deportation of legal permanent residents and ing differences between immigrant leaders and by the criminalization of undocumented per- Mexican-American elites. The largest city of a sons contained in HR 4437, the Ya Es Hora state that is a political and cultural trendsetter, coalition assembled a diverse cross-section

Los Angeles plays a leading role in national de- of Hispanic media (Univision, Entravisión, Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities bates on immigration politics and policy, and ImpreMedia), labor unions (Service Employees its models of immigrant civic engagement are International Union, SEIU), and national ad- replicated elsewhere. vocacy organizations (National Association Yet in spite of these advantages, Los Angeles’ of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, immigrant population faces similar challenges NALEO; National Council of La Raza, as those experienced by communities else- NCLR). This coalition wanted to get out the where, even if these are inflected in a way that vote (Ya Es Hora ¡Ve y Vota!), create new citizens is uniquely Californian. Politically, the state (Ya Es Hora ¡Ciudadania!), and encourage par- is largely discounted electorally from national ticipation in the decennial census (Ya Es Hora races and its gerrymandered congressional dis- ¡Hazte Contar!). Ya Es Hora was successful as tricts inhibit partisan competition, perhaps a social marketing “brand” because it married discouraging the formation of engaged con- the power of over-the-air broadcast messaging, stituents. Socioeconomically, the city’s immi- packaged primarily in news programming and grants struggle to lay the material foundations time-synchronized among various affiliates to necessary for engagement in the political pro- maximize impact, with on-the-ground grass- cess, as well as to pay for its related costs, such roots activism. This successful strategy took as English-language classes, naturalization ap- advantage of Los Angeles’ existing advocacy plication fees, and legal expenses. The dispersal and organizational infrastructures, whose ca- of settling immigrants into suburbia and away pacities to engage new citizens had grown as from the gateway city, moreover, dilutes the a result of the 1986 Immigration Reform and effectiveness of activist strategies designed to Control Act (IRCA), as well as a consequence reach a concentrated urban core. And divisions of the mid-1990s anti-187 protest movement. between the Mexican-American establishment Besides the Spanish-language media, other and immigrant leaders prevent optimal policy institutions have played influential roles in cohesion on issues that affect the Latino com- citizenship and get-out-the-vote campaigns, munity at large. Yet to be sure, these challenges and long-time activists point out that las cinco are not the same kind of setbacks encountered patitas (the five legs) of successful efforts also by immigrant communities in other areas of must involve organized labor, faith-based the country (e.g. housing ordinances, 287g groups, community-based organizations, and enforcement), where large-scale settlement is a immigrant federations. Interestingly, this institutional interplay in the formation of new citi- projections suggest that Latinos will drive the zens and voters is taking place at a time when state’s population increase in the next decade the national identity of immigrants is more so that by 2030, 15 percent of all Nebraskans accommodating than ever before (the greater will be Latinos, about equal to what is today availability of dual citizenship and the acces- the proportion of Latinos in the national pop- 60 sibility of expatriate voting), when broader ulation.17 avenues exist for binational civic engagement Many immigrants in Omaha—and (matching-funds programs for community- Nebraska generally—face socioeconomic of-origin development; activism to halt the hardships familiar to immigrants in “survival criminalization of undocumented people in mode” nationwide. They are underpaid and the United States and to decriminalize illegal overworked in the dirtiest, least rewarding, and immigration in Mexico), and when technology most physically dangerous jobs. Their advance- enables almost unbroken contact between mi- ment to higher-paying work with health insur- grants and their hometowns. For Los Angeles’ ance and retirement plans is limited because of Latino immigrants this new transnationalism inadequate English-language proficiency and means that migrants can have one foot here educational attainment. Discrimination and, and one foot there, and that “you don’t have to for many, the vagaries of legal status and of be- stop being a Mexican to be an American.” For longing inhibit not only occupational mobil- Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Los Angeles, understanding the transnational ity but also personal freedom and engagement identity of its immigrants has become a prereq- in the greater society. Politically, Latinos are uisite for designing successful projects of civic underrepresented—as measured by the ratio engagement. of Latino officeholders to the proportion of Latinos in the general population—and the CONTEXT MATTERS: OMAHA16 only Latinos holding elected positions in the state, as of this writing, were Mark Martinez,18 Nebraska mirrors other Midwestern states twice-elected to the Omaha public schools that have experienced rapid Latino popula- board, and Rebecca Valdez, who in 2008 won tion growth since the 1990 Census. The state’s a seat on the state board of education. Neither Latinos are younger than the general popula- is an immigrant. tion and a sizeable percentage of Latino adults Amid a growing immigrant population, are not U.S. citizens. Over the past two census Omaha’s advocacy organizations face the chal- years, Latinos have made a notable impact in lenge of scaling up to meet new demand for important sectors of the Nebraskan economy, service provision. Organizations now find as well as on the state’s demographics generally. themselves tasked with channeling impulses Latino workers account for nearly 70 per- of civic engagement and political participation cent of the state’s mainstay meatpacking indus- into non-formal yet substantive expression— try, and, in Omaha, the enrollment of Latino important given that many immigrants are not schoolchildren has grown so much that whites U.S. citizens or, if they are U.S. citizens, may are no longer a majority in the local school dis- not be of voting age. The city’s 15,000-strong trict. Moreover, analyses show that, if it were April 2006 march to protest HR 4437, as part not for Latinos, many Nebraska towns would of the nationwide collective mobilization, was have become ghost towns in the 1990s. And, a notable accomplishment. Yet the fragmen- tation of the march coalition shortly after- ceeded in winning contracts and establishing ward may indicate that a looming threat (the collective bargaining rights at three meat- Sensenbrenner bill) was necessary to sustain it packing plants in 2006. Similarly, immigrant in the first place. advocates, including traditional “assimila- For recent Latino immigrants, challenges to tionist” mutual-aid groups and Chicano or- 61 enhanced civic engagement are inflected by the ganizations, as well as general charities like unique social, political, and historical context the Salvation Army, have increased service CONTEXT MATTERS: of Nebraska. A conservative state in the U.S. capacities in line with rising demand. And interior, Nebraska has what Lourdes Gouveia the Catholic Church, the institution of first refers to as a “selective immigration history.” resort for generations of immigrants, has For the advocates of contemporary immi- helped to catalyze the development of migrants, this means convincing long-term resi- grant civil society, functioning as an effec- Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities dents that conceptions of “Americanness” are tive facilitator and convener among different continuously evolving, as much today as they stakeholders. were a century ago when Czech, Irish, Polish, German, Lithuanian, and, to a lesser extent, SAN JOSE19 Italian and Mexican forebears first arrived to work in the slaughterhouses. Additionally, the San Jose is arguably California’s most ethni- mindset that presupposes the criminality of cally diverse large city. In 2008, only about 30 “illegal immigrants” and that views irregular percent of the population was considered non- immigration as a strategy of invasion—rather Hispanic white, and the city’s Vietnamese- and than as the consequence of policy failures in Indian-descent populations were the larg- sending and receiving countries—represents est outside of their respective countries. The another obstacle that has found expression in surrounding County of Santa Clara leads all local politics. In the meeting that inspired the California counties in the foreign-born per- report, The Omaha Site: Constructing Migrant centage of its population—36.3 percent— Civil Society, participants criticized city ordi- higher even than Los Angeles’ 36.0 percent nances that they said aimed to make life harsh and San Francisco’s 35.8.20 In this decade, for immigrants, adding that “hostile” laws strong economic growth, fueled by Silicon had fed a climate of “fear.” Such sentiment Valley, pulled hundreds of thousands into the against non-citizens has also manifested itself area, and more than 600,000 foreign-born in legislation passed at the state level, and in persons are said to make Santa Clara County 2009, the Nebraska state legislature enacted a their home. San Jose is also linguistically di- bill mandating proof of legal presence in the verse, and about half of county residents speak United States as a condition for obtaining a language other than English in the home, “public benefits.” such as Hindi, Vietnamese, Farsi, Chinese, Since 2000 faith-based groups, organized and/or Tagalog, though Spanish is the most labor, and advocacy organizations, in com- widely spoken language after English. bination and separately, have attempted to In response to this diversity, local govern- “construct a migrant civil society” in Omaha. ment in San Jose has become a pioneer in Forging a coalition between Asian and Latin promoting immigrant integration strategies. American immigrants, labor unions suc- Across the gamut of policy—from public health, to education, to citizenship—local ser- tivists, labor unions, and university students, vices are delivered in ways considered culturally who formed a movement that, though com- compatible for San Jose’s non-English-speak- prising mainly Latinos, aspired to the diver- ing communities. “Diversity is our strength,” sity of the society that it came out of. Ethnic says Teresa Castellanos, the interim director media, important shapers of the immigration 62 of the Santa Clara County Office of Human debate, drove interest in the preceding weeks Relations. Just one example of this outreach and transmitted important day-of messages. is the county’s multilingual “Citizenship Organized youth, some waving U.S. flags, in- Initiative” program, run by Castellanos’ office, jected the mobilization with a hope and faith which since 1996 has assisted in the natural- in participatory democracy; the presence of ization process more than 120,000 applicants families reminded that a consequence of en- from dozens of nationalities. forcement efforts frequently is the separation Pro-integration policies reflect local gov- of parent and child. ernment sentiment in favor of immigrants. Given such a context of welcome, what San Jose is widely known as a “sanctuary city” challenges do the county’s Latin American for immigrants. And in recent years the Santa immigrants face in the exercise of citizenship? Clara County Board of Supervisors has publicly From outside the community, California’s cy- condemned HR 4437 (“Sensenbrenner Bill”), clical public finances and recent budget crises Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant as well as the Minutemen as an anti-immigrant lend uncertainty to the viability of those local vigilante group. The board has also been proac- integration and citizenship initiatives that re- tive in its pro-immigrant stance, offering con- quire long-term state investment. At the fed- tinued support to the “Citizenship Initiative” eral level, legislative inaction, the absence of a program and collaborating with a state-funded coherent national policy on immigrant inte- CONTEXT MATTERS: naturalization campaign, while endorsing the gration, and ambiguity on the government’s right of undocumented immigrants to apply enforcement stance preclude more meaning- for state driver’s licenses. ful collaboration with state and local actors on Besides local government, other institu- integration and citizenship goals. From inside tions—and coalitions of institutions—have the community, racism and perceptions of dis- worked to further immigrant civic engage- crimination, as well as the view that the United ment and political participation. A clear States is an imperial power in Latin America, example highlighting the collaboration of may represent obstacles to greater engagement institutions was San Jose’s May 1, 2006, in local politics. mega-march. Part of a synchronized effort in Locally, improved efforts are needed to dozens of cities nationwide to show the clout bridge the “generation” gap with older resi- of immigrant consumers and workers, the dents, as well as to convince them that immi- march drew demonstrators numbering be- grants’ greater access to government services tween 100,000 and 330,000, representing by benefits everyone. At the same time, greater either count the largest civil mobilization in common cause is needed with non-Latin San Francisco Bay Area history. Joining forces American immigrant groups, given that an to take the streets were ecumenical religious estimated 50,000 undocumented Asian immi- groups, community-based organizations, legal grants are county residents. Additionally, white advocates, Chicano and Native American ac- progressives, notable for their condemnation of the Central American wars of the 1980s, rep- come they would decide to return en masse resent another natural partner but were largely to home countries. The trend appeared to absent from the May 1, 2006 rally. peak in 2006 when in April of that year, 461 bills were being debated in no fewer than 43 TUCSON21 states.23 Like Prop. 200, the majority of these 63 bills, such as Georgia’s SB529, appealed simul-

As U.S. border enforcement measures have taneously to a mix of constituencies: fiscal con- CONTEXT MATTERS: forced more undocumented immigrants to servatives attracted to the potential for savings; cross through the Arizona desert, the state anti-immigration, English-only, and other na- has seen its immigrant population increase tivist lobbies; and, “security mom” voters who significantly. Especially since the mid-1990s, viewed unauthorized migrants as a potentially this trend has placed Arizona at the center of a dangerous fifth column looking to exploit the Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities heated debate on state immigration policy. And border’s wide open spaces after the 9-11 terror- in the mid-2000s, voters passed unprecedented ist attacks. restrictions on non-citizens’ access to social Opponents say Prop. 200, along with the services, even imposing penalties on govern- related employee/employer sanctions initia- ment clerks for failure to report immigration tive Proposition 300, had a chilling effect violations. More recently, long-time Maricopa on Latino immigrant civic engagement and County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has continued to political participation. A reaction to the un- generate controversy, springing from charges of substantiated threat of voter fraud, Prop. racial profiling, illegal sweeps, and overzealous 200 clearly telegraphed to non-citizens that enforcement of federal immigration law.22 they were feared as potential saboteurs of the Reactive state policies may reflect the pub- democratic system.24 Moreover, immigrant lic’s susceptibility to quick-fix solutions, partic- rights advocates say the referendums unfairly ularly in the face of perceived federal paralysis changed “the rules in the middle of the game,” on the “problem” of unauthorized immigra- compounding the economic, educational, and tion. This sentiment surged in 2004 with the vocational challenges that non-citizens and passage of Proposition 200, a voter ID law that families already face. Opponents add that the also sought to deny public benefits broadly to referendums have hurt the state’s economy unauthorized immigrants and their families. and not led to the fiscal efficiencies claimed by Approved by 56 percent of voters, the ballot backers. initiative mandated that social services work- Yet even in the current political climate, ers verify applicants’ legal status before the advocates can point to what they say are ad- processing of benefit claims, yet its provisions vances. In the report, Arizona’s Legislative- went a punitive step further, requiring that Imposed Injunctions: Implications for clerks report any “violation of federal immigra- Immigrant Civic and Political Participation, tion law,” lest they face criminal charges. Anna Ochoa O’Leary notes that the threat of Protect Arizona Now (PAN), as Proposition punitive social policy has reinvigorated service 200 was dubbed by supporters, was part of a organizations, much as the fear over border wave of “legislation of attrition,” designed to vigilantism strengthened the local immigrant grind away at immigrant communities through and human rights movements of the 1970s the denial of services until they felt so unwel- and 1980s. Legal aid and advocacy organizations, such as Tucson’s Fundación México; Mexicanos en el Exterior, IME), which seeks churches, some of which were involved in to sustain linkages between Mexican expatri- the 1980s Sanctuary movement; and, the ate communities and the Mexican govern- Spanish-language media have been inspired ment and on which she sits as an advisory to reverse what critics call the chilling effect board member for Tucson. In her report, 64 of Prop. 200. At the same time, opposition Ochoa O’Leary acknowledges the short-term on economic grounds has been registered by challenges standing in the way of enhanced many in the business community. immigrant civic engagement and political Similarly Sheriff Arpaio’s baldly provocative participation, but she also takes an optimistic tactics have similarly inspired a “backlash to long view. She notes the still-untapped poten- the backlash,” spurring acts of political protest tial of immigrant and 1.5-generation youth— by both immigrant and native-born Latinos, as young persons with very tangible stakes in the well as by non-Latinos. In only the most re- immigration reform debate and who will soon cent mass demonstration against the perenni- be eligible to vote if they aren’t already.26 ally controversial sheriff, approximately 10,000 gathered in Phoenix on January 16, 2010 to WASHINGTON, DC27 protest racial profiling, illegal dragnets of Latino neighborhoods, and other immigration The Washington, DC, metropolitan area is Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant enforcement actions, allegedly conducted by a compelling case study in Latino immigrant the sheriff’s office and frequently against the integration. An emerging gateway, it has an wishes of local police chiefs. But the protest also eclectic and dynamic population of Latin represented a stand against social currents that, American immigrants, characterized by a core in a broader sense, malign Latino immigrant Central American identity yet with no major- CONTEXT MATTERS: communities: the creeping criminalization ity nationality, and, especially since the past of undocumented persons through use of the census year, growing numbers of Mexicans. term “illegal alien,” the easy conflation of im- While the region’s vibrant center-city has been migration with terrorism, and the increasingly a traditional entry point, it is the area’s suburbs matter-of-fact humiliation of detained per- in Virginia and Maryland that today are expe- sons—even the shackling of expectant mothers riencing the swiftest Latino population growth. as they give birth—something Arpaio’s office Importantly, the metropolitan region is truly was accused of in 2008 and that still lingers in unique among all other U.S. metropolitan the memories of many.25 areas. It overlaps two states and the District Yet even in this context, Ochoa O’Leary of Columbia—each with its own unique his- still notes another important advance: the tory and politics of immigration—and it is emergence of six hometown associations home to the nation’s capital, a fact that accents (HTAs) in the Tucson area in 2008. These the relevance of local political mobilization. HTAs provide opportunities for enhanced Individual Latinos in the Washington metro- civic engagement and political participation politan area are also different from their coun- in both country of origin and country of terparts elsewhere. They are more likely to be residence. Their consolidation, Ochoa says, naturalized citizens, and both immigrant and was enabled by the Mexican government’s non-immigrant Latinos are more likely to be Institute of Mexicans Abroad (Instituto de voters than Latinos nationally.28 Additionally, Washington-area Latinos obtain higher rates eral population growth in the suburbs: lower of workforce participation and homeowner- real estate prices, better schools, and more job ship, as well as higher household income and opportunities.31 educational attainment, than the national The radiation of Latino immigrants away Latino average.29 from the center city and their direct settlement 65 Washington became home to a diverse pop- in the suburbs characterize a trend playing out ulation of Latin American immigrants most nationwide, especially in so-called non-tradi- CONTEXT MATTERS: prominently after World War II.30 Beginning tional receiving areas, such as in the South and in the 1950s and 1960s, the region became a Midwest. Yet the suburbanization of Latino site of long-term settlement for immigrants immigration in Washington is particularly predominantly from South America and the unique given that the area is home to an as-

Caribbean who came to work in the city’s em- sortment of overlapping legal jurisdictions. Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities bassies and international organizations. In the The metropolitan region consists of twenty- 1970s and 1980s, refugees fleeing from wars two municipal and county jurisdictions, the in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua District of Columbia, and two states, relatively grew this community, imparting a pronounced liberal Maryland and relatively conservative Central American identity that continues Virginia. The distribution of Latinos across today. Over the past two decades, the area’s these entities implies a diversity of govern- Latin America-born population has grown rap- mental approaches to immigrant integration. idly, rising 158 percent from 1990 to 2006 and While Takoma Park, Md., is considered a outpacing the 28-percent growth of the general “sanctuary city,” local politicians in some outer population over the same period. Recent trends suburbs have supported efforts to deny social include larger cohorts of Mexicans, whose services and require proof of legal residence numbers grew 21-fold over 1980 to 2006, and to obtain a driver’s license. Such local politics the newness of arrival for a large share of immi- reflect the impulses that encourage or discour- grants. According to Audrey Singer, as of 2006 age immigrant integration at the ground level. 34 percent of the area’s Latin American immi- Likewise such responses demonstrate the role grant population had been in the United States of geographic context as an important deter- since only 2000, with 65 percent having been minant of civic engagement and political par- in the United States since only the 1990s. ticipation. In recent years, the swiftest growth of the Local governments are one institution Latino population has taken place in those among many in Washington. Churches, areas with the least experience in accommo- labor unions, immigrant advocacy organi- dating sudden Latino population growth: the zations, schools, hometown associations, outer suburbs. In Loudoun and Prince William and youth organizations have significantly counties in Virginia, the Latin America-born shaped immigrants and non-immigrants population rose 170.5 percent and 181.3 per- as civic and political actors. Churches and cent, respectively, over 2000-2006, compared other faith-based organizations are struc- against 30.6-percent growth for the entire tures of first resort for the formation of im- Washington metropolitan area. Latino immigrant social networks—a first step of civic migration to the suburbs can be explained by engagement—and provide community, min- many of the same reasons that have driven gen- istry, and education in practical knowledge and skills, e.g. English-language instruction, Yet despite such advantages, the region’s for- job training, and citizenship classes. To vary- eign- and native-born Latinos face many of the ing degrees, churches have acted as rallying same challenges encountered by Latinos else- points for political activism, particularly in where. Parts of the metropolitan area are politi- rejection of the legislative efforts to crimi- cally hostile toward immigrants, and Latinos 66 nalize undocumented persons in 2006. And lag the general population in many of the so- some church leaders have ventured support cioeconomic indicators considered prerequisite for local political causes, such as endorsing a for optimal integration and political participa- slate of pro-immigrant candidates in a recent tion. Because of its eclectic mix and no major- local election or promoting the construction ity nationality, the area’s Latino community of a county-funded day-labor center for im- historically has comprised a mosaic of nation- migrants.32 alities, slowing the formation of a perhaps Labor unions represent another institution more collectively powerful pan-ethnic Latino for enhanced political participation and civic constituency, although this may be changing. engagement. The hierarchy and discipline of At the same time, many Latinos’ “newness” to unions mirror political and partisan structures, the region, as well as to the country generally, enabling processes of leadership formation by would suggest a steep accommodation period members who may also begin to perceive of prior to successful civic engagement and politi- Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant themselves more consciously as constituents. cal participation. Additionally immigrant-led organizations provide channels for civic involvement and notes political action. Groups, such as the United Salvadoran Communities of the D.C. Metro CONTEXT MATTERS: 1 See Joyce Deaton, Charlotte: A Welcome Area and Mexicanos Sin Fronteras, are centers Denied, Reports on Latino Immigrant Civic of community and practical-skills acquisition, Engagement, No. 1, (Washington, DC: yet some also go a step further, advocating Woodrow Wilson International Center for against local attempts to deny social services to Scholars, 2008). immigrants and providing forums for political 2 Between 1990 and 2000, North Carolina reg- debate on various issues. istered the highest rate of increase in Hispanic The Washington metropolitan area offers population of any state—from 76,726 to 378,963, or 394 percent. During the same pe- many advantages for Latino immigrant inte- riod, the Hispanic population in Mecklenburg gration and political participation. The area County, of which Charlotte is the county seat has a deepening immigrant-receiving tradition, and largest city, rose from about 6,000 to almost a diverse Latin American population, and is 45,000—an increase of 620 percent. Deaton, 1. at the epicenter of the national immigration 3 This sentiment was voiced by Charlotte at- policy debate, emphasizing the relevance of large city councilman Edwin B. Peacock III local mobilization. Importantly, Latino immi- (R), presentation at launch event for the report, grants in the Washington metropolitan area are “Charlotte: A Welcome Denied,” (Levine more likely to be U.S. citizens than Latino im- Museum of the New South in Charlotte, April 28, 2009). migrants nationally—an important indicator for trends of formal political participation and 4 See Xóchitl Bada, Oscar A. Chacón, and electoral turnout.33 Jonathan Fox, Eds., Latino Immigrants in the Windy City: New Trends in Civic Engagement, Reports on Latino Immigrant 9 See John P. Tuman, Latin American Migrants Civic Engagement, No. 6, (Washington, DC: in the Las Vegas Valley: Civic Engagement Woodrow Wilson International Center for and Political Participation, Reports on Scholars, 2010). Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, No. 4, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson 5 Of immigrant marchers in those two years only International Center for Scholars, 2009). 27 and 31 percent were non-citizens, accord- 67 ing to survey results. See “Family Matters: 10 “Official Final Election Results for Clark CONTEXT MATTERS: Strategizing Immigrant Activism in Chicago” County” General Election Results (November 7, in Bada, Chacón, and Fox. 2006). See: http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/ ELECTION/2006/GEN/results_gen.htm. 6 See Myrna Martínez Nateras and Eduardo Accessed Feb. 7, 2010. Stanley, Latino Immigrant Civic and Political Participation in Fresno and Madera, 11 See National Association of Latino Elected

California Reports on Latino Immigrant and Appointed Officials Education Fund Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities Civic Engagement, No. 3, (Washington, DC: (NALEO), 2008 General Election Profile (Los Woodrow Wilson International Center for Angeles), http://www.naleo.org/08PostElec- Scholars, 2009). Profile.pdf. Accessed Feb. 8, 2010. 7 This compares against similar numbers for the 12 See Tuman, 32. City of Fresno, which at 2008 had a Hispanic 13 See section “Roundtable 3: Opportunities or Latino population of approximately 44.6 For and Challenges To Naturalization” in percent and a Mexican-origin component of John P. Tuman, Latin American Migrants this population of 84.8 percent. Population in the Las Vegas Valley: Civic Engagement data come from the U.S. Census, 2006- and Political Participation, Reports on 2008 American Community Survey: Three- Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, No. Year Estimates, www.factfinder.census.gov, 4, (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson as well as from the factsheet, City of Fresno International Center for Scholars, 2009), Economic Development Department, “City 32-33. According to the U.S. Department of of Fresno: Demographic Characteristics” (May Homeland Security’s Yearbook of Immigration 2008), http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/ Statistics 2008, naturalizations grew BA7C9CC2-80F9-4C02-A714-5C38254906 more than 300 percent in the Las Vegas- 90/0/2008DemographicsCityandCounty.pdf. Paradise, NV, Core Based Statistical Area Accessed Feb. 8, 2010. from fiscal year 2001 to fiscal year 2008. 8 According to the most recent data available, Naturalizations in 2001 numbered 2,753; in naturalizations from the Fresno Core Based 2008 they were 11,058. Statistical Area (CBSA) numbered only 5,133 14 See Gaspar Rivera-Salgado and Veronica for fiscal year 2008, compared against more Wilson, Today We March, Tomorrow We than 1 million in the same period for the Los Vote: Latino Migrant Civic Engagement in Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana CBSA, more L.A. Reports on Latino Immigrant Civic than 24,000 for the San Jose-Sunnyvale- Engagement, No. 5 (Washington, DC: Santa Clara CBSA, and more than 37,000 Woodrow Wilson International Center for for San Francisco. See the factsheet, “Persons Scholars, 2009). Naturalized by Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) of Residence: Fiscal Years 1999 to 15 See U.S. Census, The Hispanic Population: 2008,” Yearbook of Immigration Statistics Census 2000 Brief (May 2001), http://www. (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-3.pdf (ac- Homeland Security), http://www.dhs.gov/files/ cessed February 8, 2010). The brief indicates statistics/publications/YrBk08Na.shtm (ac- that at the 2000 Census, the population of Los cessed February 8, 2010). Angeles County was 46.5 percent Latino or Hispanic, and that of the county’s 4.2 million Woodrow Wilson International Center for Latinos, 3.0 million were of Mexican origin. Scholars, April 2010). 16 Lourdes Gouveia and Jonathan Benjamin- 20 Comparable state and national percentages are Alvarado, The Omaha Site: Migrant Civil 26.2 and 11.1, respectively. Society Under Construction, Reports on 21 See Anna Ochoa O’Leary, “Arizona’s 68 Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, No. Legislative-Imposed Injunctions: Implications 8 (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson for Immigrant Civic and Political International Center for Scholars, May 2010). Participation,” Research Paper Series on Latino 17 Nebraska’s Latino population has risen Immigrant Civic and Political Participation, significantly in the past two decades. From No. 2 (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson 1990 to 2007, Census figures show that the International Center for Scholars, 2009). state’s Hispanic-Latino population rose 258 22 In February 2009, Arpaio marched 220 un- percent and increased even higher—311 documented prisoners on a sensationalist “perp percent—in the county that contains Omaha, walk” for the media, relocating them to his one of the state’s two metropolitan areas. controversial “Tent City” from a conventional This growth came at a time when the state’s prison, in a move thinly justified as a savings non-Hispanic population increased only 1.7 for county taxpayers. In October, following percent from the 2000 Census to the most allegations of illegal sweeps and racial profil- recently published estimate from 2008. In fact, ing, Arpaio’s office was dropped from the U.S. if current forecasts hold, Latinos will account Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Department of Homeland Security’s 287 (g) for 96 percent of the state’s net population program, even though the sheriff has vowed to increase from 2005 to 2030. If these forecasts continue enforcement of federal immigration hold, the proportion of Latinos in the total law citing the “inherent authority” of officers to state population will be around 15 percent, do so. which is close to the current proportion of

CONTEXT MATTERS: Latinos in the total national population. If More recently in April 2010, the Arizona state Latino population growth were subtracted legislature passed and Gov. Jan Brewer signed from this next-quarter-century projection, net what some consider the most draconian state- population increase would be only 7,408, or level immigration legislation ever. Senate Bill 0.4 percent, from a total population that at 1070, approved April 19, 2010 and signed 2007 stood at 1,711,263. According to the into law April 23, 2010, makes it a state most recent Census estimates from July 2008, crime to be in the country without papers Latinos account for approximately 7.9 percent and would force local police to enforce federal of the state’s population. Hispanic population immigration laws. One interpretation of the estimate: 140,498; total population estimate: bill suggests that it would allow local police to 1,783,432. See http://www.census.gov/popest/ stop and question any person they suspect of states/asrh/SC-EST2008-03.html. being undocumented and require that individual to produce proof of lawful residence or 18 Martinez was sworn in as a U.S. Marshal for citizenship. the District of Nebraska on January 13, 2010, an appointment requiring him to leave the 23 See the report, 2006 State Legislation Related to school board post. See Michaele Saunders, Immigration: Enacted and Vetoed (Washington, “OPS elects board officers,”Omaha World- DC: National Council of State Legislatures, Herald, January 4, 2010. Oct. 31, 2006) http://www.ncsl.org/Default. aspx?TabId=13137 (accessed Feb. 8, 2010). 19 See Rosario Vital, Coming Out and Making History: Immigrant Civic Participation in San 24 Requiring voters to present state-approved ID Jose, Reports on Latino Immigrant Civic at the polls, the referendum also fell under Engagement, No. 7 (Washington, DC: criticism for targeting particular groups of the legally voting population and for representing a vote, and 70 percent indicated they had voted modern “poll tax.” in 2004, according to the 2006 LNS (Local Goes National, 20). This compares against 77.4 25 See Pablo Alvarado, “¿Por qué marchamos en percent reported registration and 61.6 percent Arizona?/Why Are We Marching in Arizona?” reported turnout nationally, according to the La Jornada (Mexico City) http://www.jornada. 2006 LNS. unam.mx/2010/01/09/index.php?section 69 =opinion&article=013a1pol. Alvarado is 29 For a fuller treatment of the demographic executive director of the National Day Laborer profile of the Latino immigrant population in CONTEXT MATTERS: Organizing Network, NDLON (Red Nacional the Washington metropolitan area, see Michael de Jornaleros y Jornaleras). Jones-Correa’s chapter in Local Goes National, “Latinos in the Washington Metropolitan 26 For example if the DREAM Act advances in Area: Findings from the 2006 Latino National the U.S. Congress. DREAM stands for the

Survey.” Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities Minors Act. If passed, the act would give alien 30 See Audrey Singer’s chapter, “Latin American minors the opportunity to earn “conditional Immigrants in the Washington Metropolitan permanent residency,” provided they earn a Area: History and Demography.” university degree or serve honorably in the 31 In fact, the metropolitan area’s general popula- armed forces and meet other requirements. tion is highly suburban, with only 10 percent While enrolled at university, participants would of the population living in Washington, DC, have “temporary residency,” allowing them to proper, and it should be noted that the suburbs qualify for in-state tuition at public universities have been new sites of settlement not only for in their state of residence. Latin American-born immigrants but also for 27 See Kate Brick, Michael Jones-Correa, and foreign-born persons generally. Audrey Singer, Local Goes National: Challenges 32 See Kate Brick’s chapter, “Key Issues for Latino and Opportunities for Latino Immigrants in the Immigrant Engagement: A Dialogue among Nation’s Capital, Reports on Latino Immigrant Leaders of the Local Community.” Civic Engagement, No. 2 (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for 33 In fact according to data from the 2006 Latino Scholars, 2009). National Survey, area Latinos self-reported voting turnout levels in 2004 that were higher 28 According to the 2006 Latino National than the actual general turnout for that year’s Survey (LNS), 56 percent of Washington- elections: 72.7 percent versus 60.7 percent. See area foreign-born Latinos, excluding Puerto Brian Faler, “Election Turnout in 2004 Was Ricans, said they were citizens versus 30.1 Highest Since 1968,” Washington Post, January percent nationally (Local Goes National, 19). 15, 2005, A05, http://www.washingtonpost. Also see: http://depts.washington.edu/uwiser/ com/wp-dyn/articles/A10492-2005Jan14.html documents/LNS_toplines_FIP_April16_2007. (accessed February 7, 2010). See also Table pdf. Additionally, 80 percent of eligible DC T87 in Jones-Correa chapter (86). metro-area Latinos said they were registered to 70 APPENDIX Partners, publications, and past and future events of the Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement Project

Charlotte Publications:

Joyce Deaton. Charlotte: A Welcome Denied.

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Reports on Latino Immigrant Civic

Engagement, No. 1. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, November 2008. CONTEXT MATTERS:

Chicago Principal partner:

Helping Empower Local People (H.EL.P.), an affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation Chris Bishop, Executive Director

Past and future events:

“Looking at Latino Civic Engagement: The Roundtable Conference” Principal partner: Sept. 14, 2007; Charlotte, NC National Alliance of Latin American and Launch of Charlotte: A Welcome Denied, held Caribbean Communities (NALACC) at Levine Museum of the New South, April Oscar A. Chacón, Executive Director 28, 2009; Charlotte, NC Past and future events: Publications:

“Community Dialogue on Transnational Myrna Martínez Nateras and Eduardo Activism in Chicago – Strategies of Stanley. Latino Immigrant Civic and Integration and Engagement” Political Participation in Fresno and Madera, 71 Oct. 26-27, 2007; Chicago, IL California. Reports on Latino Immigrant

Civic Engagement, No. 3. Washington, DC: CONTEXT MATTERS: Community dialogue and launch of Latino Woodrow Wilson International Center for Immigrants in the Windy City: New Trends in Scholars, May 2009. Civic Engagement School of Social Service Administration, Past and future events:

University of Chicago Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities May 20, 2010; Chicago, IL Roundtable on Latino immigrant civic and political participation in Fresno Publications: Aug. 30, 2007; Fresno City Hall; Fresno, CA

Xóchitl Bada, Oscar A. Chacón, and Jonathan Fox, Eds. Latino Immigrants in the Windy City: New Trends in Civic Engagement, Reports Las Vegas on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, No. 6. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, January 2010.

Fresno, CA

Principal partner:

University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), Institute for Latin American Studies John P. Tuman, Director, Institute for Latin American Studies; Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, UNLV Principal partner: Past and future events: Pan Valley Institute of the American Friends Service Committee “Latin American Migrants: Civic and Political Myrna Martínez Nateras, Director Participation in Las Vegas, Nevada” Dec. 21, 2007; Las Vegas Publications:

John P. Tuman. Latin American Migrants in the Omaha Las Vegas Valley: Civic Engagement and Political Participation. Reports on Latino Immigrant 72 Civic Engagement, No. 4. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, April 2009.

Los Angeles

Principal partner:

Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS), University of Nebraska at Omaha Lourdes Gouveia, Director, OLLAS; Professor, Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Nebraska at Omaha Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Principal partner: University of Nebraska at Omaha CONTEXT MATTERS:

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Labor Center Past and future events: Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, Project Director Latin American Migrants: Civic Engagement Events: and Political Participation in Binational Context: Omaha, Nebraska Roundtable “Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote: Latino December 16, 2007 Migrant Civic Engagement in L.A.” May 2008, Los Angeles Publications: Publications: Lourdes Gouveia and Jonathan Benjamin- Gaspar Rivera-Salgado and Veronica Wilson. Alvarado. The Omaha Site: Migrant Civil Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote: Latino Society Under Construction. Reports on Migrant Civic Engagement in L.A. Reports Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, No. on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, 8. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson No. 5. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, May 2010. International Center for Scholars, June 2009. San Jose Tucson

73 CONTEXT MATTERS:

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities Principal partner: Principal partners:

Center for Labor Studies of the University of Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior California, Santa Cruz (IME) and Binational Migration Institute of Jonathan Fox, Professor, Department of Latin the Mexican American Studies & Research American and Latino Studies, University of Center of the University of Arizona California, Santa Cruz Fundación México Anna Ochoa O’Leary, Assistant Professor Events:

Roundtable on Latino immigrant civic Publications: engagement and political participation in San Jose, CA; April 25, 2009 Anna Ochoa O’Leary. Arizona’s Legislative- Imposed Injunctions: Implications for Immigrant Publications: Civic and Political Participation. Research Paper Rosario Vital. Coming Out and Making Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and Political History: Latino Immigrant Civic Participation Participation, No. 2. Washington, DC: in San Jose. Reports on Latino Immigrant Woodrow Wilson International Center for Civic Engagement, No. 7. Washington, DC: Scholars, January 2009. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, April 2010. Washington, DC Chris Bishop. “¿Sí Se Puede? Immigrant- Led Political Activism in Charlotte, North Carolina: One Community Organizer’s Perspective.” Research Paper Series on Latino 74 Immigrant Civic and Political Participation, No. 2. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, May 2009.

Jonathan Fox and Xóchitl Bada “Migrant Civic Engagement, 2008.” Research Paper Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and Political Events: Participation, No. 3. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for “Latin American Immigrants: Civic and Political Scholars, June 2009. Participation in the Washington DC-Metro Area” November 1, 2007; Washington, DC Luisa Heredia. “‘Welcoming the Stranger’ The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

Publications: Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles, 2009. Research Paper Series on Latino Immigrant Civic Kate Brick, Michael Jones-Correa, and Audrey and Political Participation, No. 4. Washington, Singer. Local Goes National: Challenges and DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center Opportunities for Latino Immigrants in the for Scholars, June 2009. CONTEXT MATTERS: Nation’s Capital. Reports on Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement, No. 2. Washington, DC: Hinda Seif. “The Civic Education and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Engagement of Latina/o Immigrant Youth: Scholars, March 2009. Challenging Boundaries and Creating Safe Spaces.” Research Paper Series on Latino Immigrant Civic and Political Participation, No. 5. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Research Paper Series International Center for Scholars, June 2009.

David R. Ayón. “Mobilizing Latino Immigrant Integration: From IRCA to the Ya Visit www.wilsoncenter.org/ Es Hora Citizenship Campaign, 1987-2007.” migrantparticipation for more information Research Paper Series on Latino Immigrant Civic about the Project and to access electronic and Political Participation, No. 1. Washington, versions of the publications. DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, January 2009. 75 about the authors CONTEXT MATTERS:

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities

Xóchitl Bada is an assistant professor in the in Mexico, international transparency reforms, Latin American and Latino Studies Program and Mexican migrant civil society. He has car- at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Her ried out extensive field research in rural Mexico, research focuses on the civic, cultural, and and has served as adviser to the Binational political participation of Chicago-based Front of Indigenous Organizations (Frente Michoacano migrant hometown associations. Indígena de Organizaciones Binacionales, Her research interests range from immigrant FIOB) since 1998. His most recent book access to political and social rights, black-La- is Accountability Politics: Power and Voice in tino relations, and transnational communities, Rural Mexico (Oxford University, 2007). Fox to the intersections of migration and rural de- received his Ph.D. in Political Science from velopment through the civic participation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in migrant-led hometown associations in Mexico 1986. He is a co-principal investigator of the and the United States. For the past three years, Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement Project, she has been a co-principal investigator of the coordinated by the Woodrow Wilson Center Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement Project, Mexico Institute. coordinated by the Woodrow Wilson Center Mexico Institute. Bada received her Ph.D. in Robert Donnelly is the coordinator of the Sociology from the University of Notre Dame Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement Project in 2008. and a program associate at the Woodrow Wilson Center Mexico Institute. He holds Jonathan Fox is a professor in the a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies Department of Latin American and Latino from the University of California, San Diego, Studies at the University of California, Santa completing a thesis there on contemporary Cruz, where he has taught since 1996. During Latino immigration in North Carolina, pub- 2004-2005, he held a research fellowship at lic health, and citizenship. the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. His current re- Andrew Selee is a co-principal investigator search projects involve accountability reforms of the Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement Project and the director of the Woodrow programs in Mexico and is an adjunct professor Wilson Center Mexico Institute, which proof Government at Johns Hopkins University. motes dialogue and policy research on U.S.- Selee is editor or co-editor of several publica- Mexico relations. He has worked in the U.S. tions on U.S.-Mexico relations, Mexican poli- House of Representatives and on community tics, immigration, and decentralization. 76 Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities in Nine Engagement Civic Latino Immigrant

CONTEXT MATTERS: 77 CONTEXT MATTERS:

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in Nine U.S. Cities Woodrow Wilson International ABOUT THE CENTER Center for Scholars Lee H. Hamilton, President and Director The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, established by Congress in 1968 and BOARD OF TRUSTEES headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a living Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Chair national memorial to President Wilson. The Sander R. Gerber, Vice Chair Center’s mission is to commemorate the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson by providing Public Members: James H. Billington, a link between the worlds of ideas and policy, Librarian of Congress; Hillary R. Clinton, while fostering research, study, discussion, and Secretary, U.S. Department of State; G. collaboration among a broad spectrum of indi- Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian viduals concerned with policy and scholarship Institution; Arne Duncan, Secretary, U.S. in national and international affairs. Supported Department of Education; Kathleen Sebelius, by public and private funds, the Center is a Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and nonpartisan institution engaged in the study Human Services; David Ferriero, Archivist of of national and world affairs. It establishes and the United States; James Leach, Chairman, maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and National Endowment for the Humanities informed dialogue. Conclusions or opinions expressed in Center publications and programs Private Citizen Members: Charles E. Cobb, are those of the authors and speakers and do Jr.; Robin Cook; Charles L. Glazer; Carlos not necessarily reflect the views of the Center M. Gutierrez; Susan Hutchinson; Barry S. staff, fellows, trustees, advisory groups, or any Jackson; Ignacio E. Sanchez individuals or organizations that provide finan- cial support to the Center. The Center is the publisher of The Wilson Quarterly and home of Woodrow Wilson Center Press, dialogue radio and television, and the monthly news-letter “Centerpoint.” For more information about the Center’s activities and publications, please visit us on the web at www.wilsoncenter.org.