Our Existence is a Political Issue: Examining the Political Participation of Undocumented Latinx Immigrants in the Midwest

The 2016 Presidential election pushed the debate about undocumented immigrants and immigration reform back into the forefront of the national conversation. It also increased the hostile rhetoric surrounding undocumented immigrants and mixed-status families, contrasting with how the previous presidential administration constructed these individuals. This renewed focus on immigration and immigration enforcement has led academic researchers and social work practitioners to seek out advocacy interventions for undocumented Latinx populations. Many of these interventions have focused on safely facilitating the political participation of undocumented Latinx immigrants. These studies have often measured the activities of undocumented immigrants by applying traditional measures of political participation. Traditional measures of political participation generally refer to activities aimed at creating change within the political process. Too often, these works view the political participation of undocumented immigrants through the lens of individuals being "undocumented and unafraid" or "living in the shadows” (García, 2021). This narrative assumes that undocumented Latinx immigrants view political participation through traditional definitions and categorizes individuals who do not engage in traditional forms of political participation as inactive. They have not considered that undocumented immigrants may have redefined political participation to include activities that they consider to be more accessible. These studies also do not consider how the events of the 2016 Presidential election have impacted how undocumented Latinx immigrants in the Midwest define and engage in political participation. I fill this gap in the literature around the political participation of undocumented Latinx immigrants through the context of three research questions: (1) How do undocumented Latinx immigrants in the Midwest define political participation? (2) Did the 2016 presidential election impact the political participation of undocumented Latinx immigrants in the Midwest, and if so, how? (3) How does inclusive subnational immigration policy influence the political participation of undocumented Latinx immigrants in the Midwest? To answer these questions, I conducted 32 in-depth interviews with undocumented Latinx immigrants living in the Midwest from June 2018 through April 2019. I find that respondents in my sample defined political participation in three different ways: 1) traditional definitions of political participation focusing on electoral politics and influencing voters within their networks, 2) individual engagement, and 3) everyday resistance forms of political participation. The 2016 Presidential election increased the levels of anger, fear, and disappointment within the undocumented community, but these emotions motivated them to increase their political participation. Finally, I find that inclusive subnational immigration policy helped buffer the hostile federal immigration policy and encouraged undocumented Latinx immigrants in the Midwest to engage in political participation. These results will help sociologists and social workers better understand how undocumented Latinx immigrants think about and engage in political participation.PhDSocial Work & SociologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/175649/1/nre_1.pd