The Power of Inclusion: Theorizing “Abjectivity” and Agency Under DACA

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basia D. Ellis ◽  
Roberto G. Gonzales ◽  
Sarah A. Rendón García
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
Temporary Work ◽  
1.5 Generation ◽  
Deferred Action

Critical migration scholars argue that undocumented 1.5-generation immigrants occupy distinct forms of “abject” statuses, as legally excluded yet physically included members of society. Implemented in June 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program promised to alleviate the situation of many undocumented young persons in the United States by providing them with temporary work authorization, social security numbers, and protection from deportation. Using critical psychological theory, we examine how DACA altered the condition of “abjectivity” characterizing DACA recipients’ lives, revealing how partially inclusive immigration policies can (re)create liminal subjectivities and give rise to new modes of agency and belonging.

Editors’ introduction: Latino youth and struggles for inclusion in the 21st century

Ethnicities ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Bickham Mendez ◽  
Leah Schmalzbauer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Latino Youth ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
1.5 Generation ◽  
Deferred Action ◽  
The Us ◽  
Youth And Young Adults

This special issue features carefully selected case studies that document and analyze the experiences of Latino youth and young adults as they struggle for inclusion in the United States. Articles draw from qualitative research with Latinos/as who reside in different regions of the United States, hail from or trace their origins to various countries, and embody distinct experiences of incorporation and inclusion. Special emphasis is placed on the 1.5 generation, young people who immigrated to the US as young children but have spent the majority of their lives there—some of whom hold temporary protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. This introduction presents a conceptual framework for analyzing the experiences of Latino youth and young adults. We argue for an approach that centers intersecting social locations of youth and the specificity of place for understanding the dynamics and implications of Latino youth’s struggles for inclusion in the 21st century.

Labor Unions and Undocumented Immigrants: Local Perspectives on Transversal Solidarity During DACA and DAPA

2020 ◽  
pp. 089692052098012
Author(s):  
Els de Graauw ◽  
Shannon Gleeson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Labor Unions ◽  
Undocumented Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immigrant Communities ◽  
Immigrant Rights ◽  
Deferred Action ◽  
Immigrant Organizations ◽  
Local Perspectives

National labor unions in the United States have formally supported undocumented immigrants since 2000. However, drawing on 69 interviews conducted between 2012 and 2016 with union and immigrant rights leaders, this article offers a locally grounded account of how union solidarity with undocumented immigrants has varied notably across the country. We explore how unions in San Francisco and Houston have engaged with Obama-era immigration initiatives that provided historic relief to some undocumented immigrants. We find that San Francisco’s progressive political context and dense infrastructure of immigrant organizations have enabled the city’s historically powerful unions to build deep institutional solidarity with immigrant communities during the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA [2012]) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA [2014]) programs. Meanwhile, Houston’s politically divided context and much sparser infrastructure of immigrant organizations made it necessary for the city’s historically weaker unions to build solidarity with immigrant communities through more disparate channels.

Immigrant Students in the Trump Era: What We Know and Do Not Know

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 716-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi Nguyen ◽  
Maraki Kebede
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
Deferred Action ◽  
Political Divide

The 2016 U.S. presidential election marked a time of deep political divide for the nation and resulted in an administrative transition that represented a drastic shift in values and opinions on several matters, including immigration. This article explores the implications of this political transition for immigrants’ K-16 educational experiences during President Trump’s administration. We revisit literature on school choice and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)—two policy areas where the most significant changes are expected to occur—as it pertains to immigrant students in the United States. We identify areas where there is limited scholarship, such as the unique educational experiences of various minority immigrant subgroups, the interplay between race and immigration status, and immigrant students in rural areas. Recommendations are made for policy and research.

The Ramparts of Nations: Institutions and Immigration Policies in France and the United States. By Jeffrey M. Togman. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2001. 176p. $49.00.

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 871-872
Author(s):  
Leah Haus
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
Policy Outcome

Faced with similar economic circumstances, France and the United States adopted different immigration policies at various times in the twentieth century. Jeffrey Togman asks why. To account for this variation in public policy outcome, he points to the different structure of political institutions in the two countries.

Collective (Mis)Representation of U.S. Immigration Laws

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 519-532
Author(s):  
Stephanie Pedron
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
Collective Consciousness ◽  
Immigration Laws ◽  
Collective Representations ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
The U.S ◽  
The Ideal

This paper examines historic federal immigration policies that demonstrate how the United States has rendered entire groups of people living inside and outside of its territory as outsiders. Collective representations like the Statue of Liberty suggest that the U.S. is a nation that welcomes all immigrants, when in reality, the U.S. has historically functioned as a “gatekeeper” that excludes specific groups of people at different times. The concurrent existence of disparate beliefs within a society’s collective consciousness influences the public’s views toward citizenship and results in policy outcomes that contrast sharply from the ideal values that many collective representations signify. As restrictive immigration controls are refined, insight into how immigrant exclusion via federal policy has evolved is necessary to minimize future legislative consequences that have the potential to ostracize current and future Americans.

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