Creating Resistance on the Border: Coalitions and Counternarratives to S.B. 1070 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Denise Ann Fuller Graduate Program in Women's Studies The Ohio State University 2017 Dissertation Committee: Mary Thomas, Advisor Guisela Latorre Theresa Delgadillo Copyrighted by Denise Ann Fuller 2017 Abstract With the passing of Arizona’s immigration bill S.B. 1070, the controversial “Papers Please” law ignited strong responses from its supporters and detractors. This dissertation focuses on the resistance to Arizona’s law by examining the role of artists in the protest movement. This dissertation examines films, both documentary and narrative; songs and their accompanying music videos; and the Sound Strike boycott of Arizona begun by prominent musicians in order to explore the discourse utilized by these groups in their protest of S.B. 1070. Through an analysis of visuals, narrative structure, lyrics, Facebook posts, and public press conferences, this dissertation argues that these creative productions change the discourse around immigration and undocumented immigrants. Focusing on undocumented immigrants as laborers, parents, and children, these artistic forms of protest create a counternarrative to the dangerous, violent, immigrant evoked by S.B. 1070 supporters. In film, music, and the Sound Strike boycott, artists emphasized the connection between racial profiling in S.B. 1070 to other fights against state surveillance and violence, calling for a multiracial, multiethnic coalition. This dissertation argues that the protests of S.B. 1070 show the opportunities and importance of coalitional building outside of identity groups while simultaneously recognizing that the reliance upon the heteronormative family and gender essentialism limits the protest both in coalitional opportunities and in protecting already marginalized undocumented immigrants. ii Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Mary Thomas, for her support and feedback throughout this process. I would also like to thank Theresa Delgadillo and Guisela Latorre who offered their advice and counsel and helped improve this dissertation. Neither my dissertation nor my work as a graduate student would have been possible without Judy Wu, the faculty and staff in the department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and my fellow graduate students who offered advice, feedback, and support throughout this process. iii Vita 2007................................................................Psychology, Glendale Community College 2009................................................................B.A. Psychology and Women’s Studies, Arizona State University West 2010 to present ..............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Women’s Studies, The Ohio State University Publications Celleri, Maria, et al. “América's Home.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 34, no. 1, Mar. 2013, pp. 130–134. Fahs, Breanne, and Denise A Delgado. “The Specter of Excess: Constructing Race, Class, and Gender in Women’s Body Hair Narratives.” Embodied Resistance: Breaking the Rules in Public Spaces, Vanderbilt University Press, 2011. Fields of Study Major Field: Women's Studies iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii Vita ..................................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Visions from the Arizona Border: SB1070 Counternarratives in Film ........... 23 Chapter 3: Songs from the Border: Resistance, Representation and the Sympathetic Immigrant .......................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 4: Boycotting the Border: S.B. 1070 and Sound Strike ...................................... 99 Chapter Five: Conclusion ............................................................................................... 136 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 147 v Chapter 1: Introduction Protests take place in the streets, in the courthouse, in social media, and also in creative work such as art, music, and literature. Using cultural production to protest against discrimination, violence, and social ills has been an integral part of movements for social justice. In 2010, a law passed in the state of Arizona sparked a protest movement that would lead to the creation of a variety of protest art. On April 23, 2010, Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act. This piece of legislation, known more commonly as Arizona Senate Bill 1070 or S.B. 1070, was praised by its supporters for its step toward securing the borders, deporting undocumented immigrants, and “protecting” the state of Arizona from criminals (Dahms Foster and Hartz). S.B. 1070, considered the toughest immigration bill to pass in any U.S. state in decades, created extensive controversy, both within the state and at the federal level with President Obama condemning the bill before Governor Brewer signed it into law (Archibold). This dissertation focuses on the resistance to Arizona’s law by examining the role of artists in the protest movement, and how they rearticulate the undocumented immigrant, construct coalition, and what social or governing bodies they hold responsible for the law. Introduced in January of 2010 by Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, S.B. 1070 contained a number of provisions aimed at criminalizing and harshly penalizing the daily 1 actions of undocumented immigrants in the state. S.B. 1070 imposed fines and imprisonment on undocumented workers found within the state of Arizona and imposed a requirement on law enforcement to determine the status of anyone suspected of being an undocumented immigrant (S.B. 1070). The law made it illegal for undocumented workers to attempt to find employment, to hire or be hired by a passing vehicle that stops traffic, and established a provision making it a felony to hire undocumented workers (S.B. 1070). Furthermore, the law made undocumented migrants ineligible for early release from prison, allowed police officers to arrest those they believed to be undocumented without the need of a warrant, and made it illegal to have an undocumented person in one’s vehicle (S.B. 1070). These strict laws made it difficult to attain work, to travel, to exist in public spaces, and triggered a strong reaction from those supportive of the law as well as those opposed. Protests in Arizona, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles as well as other areas of the country began after the bill passed due to those both with and without legal citizenship fearing racial profiling by law enforcement in Arizona and the widespread belief that the law would hurt small business owners in Arizona (Grinberg; Nintzel). With immigrants making their way from Mexico to the U.S. without going through legal channels and unemployment rates rising, discussions around immigration reform escalated around the country in 2010, particularly in border states like Arizona. Before the passing of S.B. 1070 in Arizona, the state legislature had attempted to pass similar bills in Arizona, including 2006’s Senate Bill 1157 and 2008’s House Bill 2807, both of which included the controversial provision in S.B. 1070 necessitating law enforcement to check the immigration status of those suspected of being undocumented 2 (S.B. 1157; H.B. 2807). At the time, the laws passed the Arizona Senate and House before being vetoed by then Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano (Benson). In 2004, the state passed Arizona Proposition 200 or the “Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act,” which necessitated photo identification and proof of citizenship to vote (Proposition 200). In 2006, the state passed a number of initiatives targeting undocumented immigrants, including Proposition 100 that denied bail to individuals thought to be undocumented immigrants, Proposition 102 that forbade undocumented immigrants from receiving punitive damages from any court in Arizona, and Proposition 300 that refused undocumented immigrants in-state tuition as well as banning them from adult education classes and from receiving financial aid (Proposition 100; Proposition 102; Proposition 300). In 2007, the state passed the Legal Arizona Workers Act, which made it mandatory for public and private employers to use e-Verify to check the legal status of their employees (“Legal Arizona Workers Act). Additionally, in 2010 Senator Pearce and three other members of the state legislature attempted to pass Senate Bill 1097 that asked school districts to gather information on their students that cannot prove legal residency and report the information to the state government (S.B. 1097). While unsuccessful, the Arizona state legislature did pass H.B. 2281, a law targeting the Mexican American Studies program in the Tucson Unified School District, outlawing courses that “promote resentment” based