Undocumented, Unapologetic, and Unafraid: Discursive Strategies of the Mmii Grant Youth Dream Social Movement Claudia Alejandra Anguiano
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Communication ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 7-1-2011 Undocumented, Unapologetic, And Unafraid: Discursive Strategies Of The mmiI grant Youth Dream Social Movement Claudia Alejandra Anguiano Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds Recommended Citation Anguiano, Claudia Alejandra. "Undocumented, Unapologetic, And Unafraid: Discursive Strategies Of The mmiI grant Youth Dream Social Movement." (2011). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/24 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNDOCUMENTED, UNAPOLOGETIC, AND UNAFRAID: DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES OF THE IMMIGRANT YOUTH DREAM SOCIAL MOVEMENT by CLAUDIA A. ANGUIANO B.A., Communication, California State University, 2004 M.A., Communication, California State University, 2004 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico June, 2011 iii 2011, Claudia A. Anguiano iv DEDICATION Para mi familia and To all my DREAMers. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project is the culminating effort of the many people who took of their time to provide support, encouragement, and resources to make the completion of this project a reality. First and foremost, I am so grateful and continue to benefit from the advice of my advisor Dr. Karen Foss. I am indebted to her words of encouragement and guidance during the completion of this project. From the scholar’s retreat, to the phone calls and emails, the feedback “remember your granddaughter” went beyond helping this dissertation, but holistically helped the development of my voice as a scholar. I am thankful for your exemplary mentorship, as you are an inspiration of the type of professor I hope to be. It was also an honor to work with the most brightest, warmest group of women and model scholars: Dr. Tema Milstein, Dr. Janet Cramer, and Dr. Ruth Trinidad Galvan. The guidance provided by each of these committee members was invaluable and I continue to be very grateful for the encouragement and assistance I was provided throughout this project. I could not have asked for a better committee and remain immensely grateful for the guidance and support I was afforded every step of the way. This work was supported by the generous financial contribution of the UNM- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Doctoral Fellowship in Social and Humanistic Studies, which allowed me the opportunity to concentrate on completing this study. Thank you to everyone in the UNM Mellon family who is so intently committed to addressing the underrepresentation of Latin@s in academia. I am especially pleased to have had Dr. Ilia Rodriguez as my spectacular Mellon mentor. vi I would not have taken this academic journey if not for the CSULA professors who cultivated my desire to head towards this scholastic endeavor. Thank you so much Dr. David Olsen, Dr. Alexander Bryant, and Dr. Kevin Baaske who supported me since a college freshman and came to influence my path into academia. Having the opportunity to teach allowed me to envision a different path for myself and I am forever grateful for that opportunity. I especially want to express my appreciation to Dr. O for the guidance that led me to this difficult but gratifying path. None of this, of course, would have been possible without all of the tireless immigrant-rights advocates and DREAMers that participated in this study and gave of their time and shared their stories with me. My sincerest appreciation to everyone at El Centro De Igualdad y Derechos, including Adriana, Rachel, Adonani and each of the ADA jovenes that make my time in Albuquerque so memorable. My heartfelt gratitude to the members of Dream Activist, and United We DREAM, CHIRLA, California Dream Network, DREAM Team LA, and folks of Tour de DREAMs, who welcomed me into their spaces of activism and taught me so much. I was honored to participate in your events and bear witness to your activism. There are a number of DREAMers who are not named, but who nevertheless are inspirational in so many ways. All of the fearless youth that I met on this journey who are the heart of the movement, whether in New Mexico, Los Angeles, Arizona, or DC, you all made this project the most fulfilling experience of my life. I really hope this study resonates with your experience of the movement. Thank you especially to Andrea, Adriana, Carlos, Erick, Fernando, Jose, Jose Luis, Kemi, Kirana, Lizbeth, Maria, Mayra, Mo, and Matias. vii I also cannot imagine having gone through this experience without my amazing colleagues and friends at the University of New Mexico. I am fortunate to Elizabeth Dickenson, Marianne Leonardi, and Courtney Fletcher who paved the way and made themselves available to for support by way of pep talks, happy hours, dinners, venting sessions, and overall making this graduate experience so much fun. A special thank you to my dissertating hermana, Iliana DeLarkin, who was side-by-side with me to share in this experience as my nutritionist, yoga instructor, counselor, and friend. Grad school would not have been the same without our adventures and hearing “this is fun you guys.” I look forward to NCA bringing us together no matter where we are dispersed across the country. I am also indebted to my constant companions since our DHS years. I want to acknowledge the continued support and friendship of Hillary Herrington. Mila Herrington, I feel so privileged to be your Tia. Your very entry into this world prompted my desire to finish this project and I am excited to see you grow up. To Suzanne Jimenez, whose friendship has been a constant source of support no matter the geographical distance. Hill and Suz, thanks for saying “just let her,” I consider myself ridiculously fortunate to have had you both by my side this last decade and a half. I’m also very grateful to help and support of Austin, Christian, Edgar, Javier, Luisa, Sofia, and Ulises. RLFV, thank you for your steadfast commitment and support through this tumultuous journey. You were there to witness and endure the gritty intricacies of this process from beginning to end. These pages help commemorate your participation in our New Mexico adventure. I love you . Hearst Castle. viii More than anyone, I want to recognize my amazing family who has been here for me every step of the way with ceaseless support. I thank you for you encouragement with all my heart. En reconocimiento de mis padres que sacrificaron tanto para que yo pudiera tener una educación. A mi mama, Ana Luisa, y mi papa, Elias- son ustedes quién inqulcaron mi deseo de obtener una educacion y que llegara a ser alguien de provecho. No tengo palabras para agradecerles por su appoyo, amor, y paciencia durante este proceso. Los quiero y los admiro mucho. Along with my parents, I would like to thank my siblings who share such an important part of my life. To my brother, Elias, who not only let me take over his office, but also brings me laugher, humility and sarcasm. Last but not least, to my wonderful sister. Annie, it is hard to properly thank you for all you did to make finishing a reality. Thank you for your selfless and generous spirit. You continue to pave the way through example and I am so lucky to call you my best friend. UNDOCUMENTED, UNAPOLOGETIC, AND UNAFRAID: DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES OF THE IMMIGRANT YOUTH DREAM SOCIAL MOVEMENT by CLAUDIA A. ANGUIANO B.A., M.A. ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico June, 2011 x UNDOCUMENTED, UNAPOLOGETIC, AND UNAFRAID: DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES OF THE IMMIGRANT YOUTH DREAM SOCIAL MOVEMENT by Claudia A. Anguiano B.A., M.A. Ph.D., Communication, University of New Mexico, 2011 ABSTRACT This project centers on the advocacy of undocumented immigrant youth to realize the passage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a narrowly tailored bipartisan legislation that would provide qualifying undocumented youth a pathway to citizenship. Using a Latino/a Critical Race framework to address socio-political discourses surrounding the immigration debate, my analysis presents the ways undocumented youth communicated about their identity and agency and the ways they constructed their demands publicly in seeking passage of the DREAM Act during the years 2001 to 2010. This research purposefully departs from the traditional modality of research and conceptualizes political work as centered in the research process. To conduct this research, I spent eleven months of fieldwork participating with DREAM activist groups in California, New Mexico, and other states nationally. The data was drawn from an estimated 400 hours of fieldwork, 10 in-depth personal interviews of activists in leadership positions, and secondary accounts of the DREAM youth movement. This study’s findings point to three progressive phases of the DREAM social movement, with unique internal and external strategies used to advocate for social xi change. The first phase covers 2001 through 2007, where self-identification strategies were used to create a collective group identity that countered the negative dehumanizing typecast of “illegal aliens” by identifying DREAMers as exceptional students. During the second phase, from 2007 to 2009, self-representation strategies worked to unite undocumented youth through the creation of national coalitional organizations and through self-identification as undocumented and unafraid. During the third phase, spanning the months from May to December 2010, participating activists utilized strategies of self-reliance and self-identified as unapologetic DREAMers.