Immigration, Protest, and the Politics of Latino/A Identity

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Immigration, Protest, and the Politics of Latino/A Identity Immigration, Protest, and the Politics of Latino/a Identity By Heather Silber Mohamed B.A., Tufts University, 1998 M.Sc., London School of Economics and Political Science, 2002 A.M., Brown University, 2008 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science at Brown University Providence, Rhode Island May 2012 © Copyright 2012 by Heather Silber Mohamed. This dissertation by Heather Silber Mohamed is accepted in its present form by the Department of Political Science as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date_____________ _________________________________ Marion Orr, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date_____________ _________________________________ James Morone, Reader Date_____________ _________________________________ Wendy Schiller, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date_____________ _________________________________ Peter Weber, Dean of the Graduate School iii VITAE Heather Silber Mohamed (née Heather Ilene Silber) was born in Gainesville, Florida on February 16, 1978. She completed her B.A. in International Relations and Spanish at Tufts University in Medford, MA in 1998, and earned an M.Sc. in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2002. Prior to the start of her Ph.D. program, Heather spent six years as a policy advisor in the U.S. Congress, working successively for the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Congressman John F. Tierney (D-MA), and former Congressman Marty T. Meehan (D- MA). Heather was awarded an A.M. in Political Science from Brown University in 2008. As a graduate student, Heather presented her work at several regional and national conferences, funded in part by competitive travel grants from the American Political Science Association (APSA) and the Midwest Political Science Association Latino/a Caucus, which honored her with an award for the best paper by a Latino graduate student. Based on her academic achievements, she also received a number of scholarships and fellowships to support her dissertation research, including the Belfer Family Graduate Fellowship in Public Policy and the Stanley J. Bernstein Graduate Fellowship, both from Brown University, as well as the John A. Garcia Scholarship for advanced methods training, from APSA’s Political Methodology Group. Additionally, Heather spent two years as a Dissertation Fellow at Brown’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. iv PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On some level, I have always been fascinated by the ways in which context, and becoming the “other,” can change one’s own identity and perspective. My maternal ancestors hail from Poland and Macedonia, while my father’s side of the family is Cuban-Jewish, a population that defies many of the generalizations about either demographic group. Over half a century after my relatives fled Cuba, for many family members, this experience continues to color their perspectives on politics and life in the U.S. This enduring influence has helped to shape my own ideas about the diversity underlying the “Latino experience,” and has also guided my search for a better understanding of the dynamic relationship between politics and identity than I found in the existing academic literature. This dissertation would not have been possible without the intellectual and financial support of countless friends, colleagues, and institutions. My greatest intellectual debt is to my two mentors. My former advisor, the late Alan S. Zuckerman, was instrumental in encouraging me to undertake this project. Of all of Alan’s Ph.D. students, I was in the earliest stages of my dissertation research when we lost him prematurely. I am proud to be the last of his students to finish my degree, and am honored to have been a part of his legacy. My current advisor, Marion Orr, ensured that I would reach this point. Marion helped me through the most challenging of professional v times, and brought new perspective and inspiration to my project. Both Alan and Marion spent countless hours reading my work and helping me to develop my ideas. I benefitted immeasurably from their wisdom and guidance, as well as their kindness and patience. My other committee members also provided essential feedback, insight and motivation throughout this process. Wendy Schiller always pushed me forward, giving me critical direction and deadlines, while Jim Morone enthusiastically shared his visionary perspective and incredible knack for big picture ideas. Their comments, strategic advice, and support were invaluable in the development of my work. Beyond my formal dissertation committee, I benefitted greatly from the wisdom and guidance of other faculty members at Brown. Marty West provided crucial methods training, and helped me to test some of my early ideas. I was also fortunate to receive intellectual support and generous feedback from other faculty members in the Political Science Department and the Taubman Center for Public Policy, including Melani Cammett, Jack Combs, Pauline Jones-Luong, Susan Moffitt, Richard Snyder, and Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro. Outside of Brown, Ezra Zuckerman and Nicholas Valentino provided helpful comments and encouragement. The Brown University Graduate School and the Department of Political Science provided numerous grants and fellowships that allowed for my research and training. For much of the project, I was privileged to work as a Dissertation Fellow at Brown’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, and am grateful to the Center and to Evelyn Hu-DeHart for providing that opportunity. Grants from the American Political Science Association and Brown’s Political Science Department enabled me to advance vi my methods training and acquire key skills for analyzing data. I also benefitted from participating in Brown’s Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences fellowship program. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to my friends and peers at Brown for their thoughts, feedback and encouragement, and for sharing in all of the ups and downs of graduate school life. My dear friend and study partner, Eli Feiman, provided critical support throughout this process, particularly in the early years. This journey would not have been nearly as much fun without Fulya Apaydin vom Hau, Hussein Banai, Maria Angelica Bautista, Erin Beck, Gavril Bilev, Catherine Corliss, Mila Dragojevic, Angelica Duran Martinez, Emily Farris, Ana Leticia Fauri Gaspar, Jeremy Johnson, Hilary Kaplan, Amy Kracker Selzer, Shruti Majumdar, Andrea Owens-Jones, and Dikshya Thapa. Outside of the academy, I owe a special thank you to Sònia Muñoz, who consistently shared her wisdom and expertise, helping me to navigate all aspects of the Ph.D. and beyond. My family has also been a constant source of love and support throughout this process. I am particularly grateful for the help of my two mothers. My mom, Esther Negrin, sacrificed repeatedly throughout her life to ensure that the best educational opportunities were available to me, always providing inspiration and encouragement along the way. Over the last few years, my mother-in-law, Seema Mohamed, provided essential support, happily caring for her granddaughter so I was able to complete several critical stages of this project. I also give my thanks to Rachel Silber Anderson, Darrell Anderson, and Shabana and Wali Mohamed. vii Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to the two most important additions in my life, both of whom have joined me since the start of graduate school: my husband Nick and my daughter Miriam. Nick’s endless support, advice, wisdom, and love have been indispensable. He has helped me work through the challenges and celebrate the joys of this process, always providing critical perspective and encouragement along the way. Miriam quite literally grew with my project, joining me at numerous conferences even before her birth. I look forward to the day when she is able to read and understand my work. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 2 ...................................................................................................................33 CHAPTER 3 ...................................................................................................................65 CHAPTER 4 .................................................................................................................101 CHAPTER 5 .................................................................................................................138 CHAPTER 6 .................................................................................................................169 BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................................193 APPENDIX A ...............................................................................................................217 APPENDIX B ...............................................................................................................227 APPENDIX C ...............................................................................................................232 APPENDIX D ...............................................................................................................238 ix LIST OF TABLES 1.1 Change in Latino Population by 5 Largest Subgroups, 2000-2010 1.2 Persons Obtaining
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