DREAMers Rising: Constituting the Undocumented Student Immigrant Movement A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and The Faculty of The Heller School of Social Policy and Management Brandeis University Sociology and Social Policy David Cunningham, Ph.D., Advisor In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Thomas Piñeros Shields February 2014 The signed version of this form is on file in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. This dissertation, directed and approved by Thomas Piñeros Shields’ Committee, has been accepted and approved by the Faculty of Brandeis University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Malcolm Watson, Dean Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Lisa Lynch, Dean Heller School for Social Policy and Management Dissertation Committee: David Cunningham, Ph.D., Department of Sociology Carmen Sirianni, Ph.D., Department of Sociology and Heller School Wendy Cadge, Ph.D., Department of Sociology Tara Brown, Ed.D., Heller School Ann Mische, Ph.D. Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame Copyright by Thomas Piñeros Shields 2014 Acknowledgements This dissertation explains how a group of individuals came to be recognized and named as a new group of collective political actors. In this way at least, the actor constitution process may be the opposite of this dissertation, which recognizes an individual for the efforts of many people. While one individual’s name is listed as the author of this work, there are many voices and contributors who played crucial roles in its construction, and deserve recognition and appreciation. I would like to thank the DREAMers who shared their stories and invited me into their lives. I especially want to thank the Student Immigrant Movement (SIM) leaders and staff, who are the subject of this dissertation and a few deserve special recognition and appreciation. First, Carlos Saavedra helped shape this dissertation. Thank you – this book belongs to you as much as to me. Second, Michele Rudy first introduced me to SIM, and helped me to understand the soul of the movement. Key staff, leaders and allies of SIM opened up their work and their lives to me, especially Ada Fuentes, Andres Del Castillo, Cady Landa, Celina Barrios-Millner, Conrado Santos, Cris Lagunas, Daniela Bravo, Deivid Ribeiro, Diana X. Bell, Elizabeth Ponce, Gladys Martinez, Isabel Vargas, Jose Palma, Juliana Harten, Juliana Morris, Keky Santana, Kyle de Beausset, Lai Wa Wu, Lily Huang, Luis Gomez, Maria Ines Penche-Vargas, Maricela Aguilar, Mario Rodas, Miriam Ortiz, Nataly Castaño, Patricia de Oliveira, Renata Teodoro, Sidia Escobar, Tatiana Saenz, and many others. I also I gained perspectives, insight and support from many allies of SIM. In addition, I want to thank the national leaders of the DREAM movement that I met over the years, especially Cristina Jimenez, Jose Luis Marantes, Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, Gaby Pacheco, Rigo Padilla, Mohammed Abdollahi, Mati Ramos, Alexis Nava Teodoro, and others who met with me or iv shared insights with me at various times. A very special thanks goes to documentary film- maker Jenny Alexander and Michaela O’Brien who filmed large portions of the events that took place in this dissertation, and shared the transcripts and videos with me as part of my research. I cannot imagine having completed this work without the meticulous and rigorous attention of my chair, David Cunningham. David provided support and enthusiasm for this project from the beginning, helped me focus and re-focus my ideas, built bridges to the literature, and provided editorial support throughout the many drafts. David was an example of academic mentoring that I feel truly fortunate to have experienced. I am also grateful to other members of my dissertation committee: Wendy Cadge, who perfectly balances high standards with a deep compassion for her students; Carmen Sirianni, my long time mentor and friend, provided support and a role model, without whom I would not have become a sociologist; Tara Brown whose sensitivity to working with youth in participatory ways continues to inspire me; and finally, Ann Mische, who I approached nervously after being awestruck by the brilliance of her work, only to learn that she is also a warmhearted and supportive mentor. I thank and appreciate all of you for your careful attention to this project, and for your support in making it better. In addition, I want to acknowledge the contribution of Sara Shostak whose course in Qualitative Methods launched this project and this dissertation also benefited from graduate courses with Jeff Prottas, Michael Doonan, Brinton Lykes, Nina Kammerer, Laura Miller, Carmen Sirianni, John Capitman, and Lorraine Klerman. Also, words alone cannot express much support I received from Judy Hanley and Cheryl Hansen who turned the Brandeis Department of v Sociology into my second home. I also appreciate the many ways that Cheryl Sweeney, Kay Bennett, Rosella Carrelli and Elaine Brooks supported this project. During the long doctoral education and dissertation process, I worked full-time at the Heller School while studying part-time, a juggling act that I do not recommend. I want to acknowledge those colleagues who were supportive, even in the rough times, especially Ann Bookman, Larry Bailis, Janet Boguslaw, Peter Kreiner, Meelee Kim and Carol Prost. Also, I do want to acknowledge the funding received from the Heller School Alumni, The Research Circle on Democracy & Cultural Pluralism and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences which supported some of my tuition, travel, software and transcription costs. The act of writing was shaped by many writing partners especially Abeer Musleh, Tony Mack, Michelle Rudy, and Vanessa Munoz. In addition, I appreciate my colleagues and classmates at Brandeis who shared the struggle and offered key advice on various versions of chapters and papers from this project in classes and seminars over the years. I want to offer a thank you for supporting my writing. Also, Ruth and Rob Wall, who provided a space for me to write for many months. Finally, and most of all, I want to thank my family, beginning with my Mother and Father who always believed in me and taught me by example of the value of continuing to struggle despite road blocks and obstacles. I want to thank the blessings and prayers of my in-laws, Aur, George and brother-in-law Sergio. I also want to thank my sons Padraic and Peter who grew up while I wrote this dissertation and Isabella who reminds me to smile and sing each day. Most of all, I want to thank Alexandra who has been my inspiration, my teacher, my friend and my wife, a partner and s source of great guidance and wisdom in this project and all things. This dissertation is dedicated to her. vi A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together becomes a reality. – John Lennon This dissertation is dedicated to Alexandra Piñeros Shields who makes my dreams a reality. vii ABSTRACT DREAMers Rising: Constituting the Undocumented Student Immigrant Movement A dissertation presented to the Faculty of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts By Thomas Piñeros Shields Between 2008 and 2012, undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children acquired a new sense of collective self and status as they pushed for the passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. In so doing, they became a new political group known as “DREAMers.” To assess how and why undocumented immigrant students were constituted as political actors, I draw on in-depth ethnographic observations with one undocumented immigrant student social movement organization in Massachusetts, which went from a struggling group of young people to an established social movement organization in a period of two years. Defining actor constitution as a combination of collective identity and legitimacy, I argue that undocumented immigrant students became political actors as a result of: (1) biographical resources based in their life experiences of being partially incorporated and partially expulsed from society; (2) the construction of public narratives from these life experiences; (3) the acquisition of material and cultural resources in organizations; (4) opportunities and threats within the national and Massachusetts immigration policy arenas, and (5) innovative strategies and tactics that deployed identity in these political arenas. As a result, this group constructed a collective identity centered on the name “DREAMers,” and gained standing in both state and national political arenas. By bringing theories from contentious politics to the study of undocumented immigrant students, this work advances viii understanding of the dynamic processes that explain how this group established a collective identity and gained standing in policy-making arenas. ix Table of Contents Chapter Page 1 1. Introduction: DREAMers in the Political Mainstream, A New Normal. 29 2. Methods for Navigating Theory and Relationships in the Field. 63 3. Subjects: Understanding the Experiences of Undocumented Immigrant Students as Biographical Resources for Mobilization. 108 4. This is Our Organization! Mobilizing Resources. 155 5. Political Arenas of the Student Immigrant Movement. 211 6. Undocumented and Unafraid: Evolving Repertoires of Contention. 264 7. Conclusion: We are the DREAMers, the Collective Identity and Certification of Undocumented Immigrant Students as Political Actors. Bibliography 292 Appendices 311 Appendix A. Summary of Interviewees 312 Appendix B. Protocols for Interviews with Undocumented Students and Allies 315 Appendix C. Codebook 318 Appendix D. Summary of Legislation 320 Appendix E. Conceptualization of Polity and Arenas 328 Appendix F. Timeline of Major Events for SIM 329 x List of Tables Table Title Page Table 1.1. Number of References to “DREAMer” in U.S. Newspapers 2008- 2012 15 Table 2.1. Empirical Data Families, the Actor Constitution Process and Dissertation Chapters 48 Figure 3.1.