Deconstructing White “American” Perceptions on Immigrants of Latinx Heritage By Caroline Heinze University of Colorado Boulder A thesis submitted to the University of Colorado Boulder in partial fulfillment of the requirements to receive Honors designation in Sociology April 2019 Defended April 1, 2019 Committee Members: Dr. Matthew Brown | Instructor of Sociology | Honors Department Liaison Dr. Fernando Riosmena | Associate Professor of Geography | Committee Chair Dr. Kristie Soares | Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies | Third Reader TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 4 ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 6 BREAKING NEW GROUND ........................................................................................................................................... 7 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................. 11 HISTORICAL PRECEDENT ......................................................................................................................................... 11 ASSIMILATION .......................................................................................................................................................... 12 THE “AMERICAN” IDENTITY .................................................................................................................................... 13 1924 NATIONAL ORIGINS QUOTA ACT (JOHNSON-REID ACT) .................................................................................... 15 “ILLEGAL ALIENS” .................................................................................................................................................. 17 THE PRECEDENT OF MEXICAN IMMIGRATION ........................................................................................................... 17 THE BRACERO ERA .................................................................................................................................................. 19 IMPLICATIONS OF ENDING THE BRACERO PROGRAM ................................................................................................. 21 1965 IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT (HART-CELLAR ACT) .............................................................................. 22 IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT .............................................................................................................. 23 ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM AND IMMIGRANT RESPONSIBILITY ACT ..................................................................... 24 THE WAR ON TERROR .............................................................................................................................................. 25 LATINX IMMIGRATION BOOM .................................................................................................................................... 27 IMPACTS OF TOUGH IMMIGRATION POLICY .............................................................................................................. 28 FEAR AND THREAT NARRATIVES ............................................................................................................................... 32 GOVERNING THROUGH “ILLEGALITY” ...................................................................................................................... 34 CONSEQUENCES OF ILLEGALITY ............................................................................................................................... 35 EMOTION-WORK AND EMOTIONAL POLITICS ............................................................................................................ 36 MEDIA CONSUMPTION ............................................................................................................................................. 38 A MATTER OF POLITICAL PERCEPTION ..................................................................................................................... 39 ATTITUDES TOWARDS MIGRANTS .............................................................................................................................. 41 IMMIGRATION POLICIES UNDER THE 45TH PRESIDENT ............................................................................................... 43 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................... 44 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................... 46 RESEARCH SETTING ................................................................................................................................................. 46 STUDY DESIGN ........................................................................................................................................................ 48 INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................................................................. 49 CODING PROCESSES ................................................................................................................................................ 53 LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................ 55 RESEARCHER REFLEXIVITY ....................................................................................................................................... 55 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 56 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................ 57 THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE “GOOD/BAD” BINARY ............................................................ 58 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 58 THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF ILLEGALITY ............................................................................................................. 59 THE “GOOD” IMMIGRANT (THE EXCEPTION) ........................................................................................................... 61 THE “BAD” IMMIGRANT (THE RULE) ....................................................................................................................... 66 IMPLICATIONS ......................................................................................................................................................... 80 POLITICAL MEDIA CONSUMPTION .......................................................................................................... 83 2 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 83 EMOTION-WORK ...................................................................................................................................................... 85 MEDIA INTAKE ........................................................................................................................................................ 89 MISTRUST OF MEDIA (SENSATIONALISM) .................................................................................................................. 95 IMPLICATIONS ......................................................................................................................................................... 97 A WHITE “NATION OF IMMIGRANTS” ..................................................................................................... 99 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 99 ASSERTING A DIFFERENCE IN ASSIMILATION ........................................................................................................... 100 EMBRACING AN ANCESTRAL PAST ........................................................................................................................... 102 PROTECTING THE NATIONAL IDENTITY ................................................................................................................... 106 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................... 110 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................................. 110 KEY TAKEAWAYS .................................................................................................................................................... 113 POLICY IMPLICATIONS 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