Drawing on research spanning ten years in three immigrant destinations—Los Angeles, Denver, and Atlanta—we address the question, “How do political contexts shape undocumented youth movements?” To do so, we bring into dialogue social movements and immigration scholarship by providing a framework for understanding undocumented youth activism. Building on political opportunity theory in social movements and segmented assimilation theory in migration studies, we advance the notion of localized political contexts: contexts of varying levels of antagonism and accommodation toward immigrants, which shape the emergence and character of undocumented youth movements. We argue that variegated political, legal, and discursive landscapes shape undocumented activism in three ways: (1) the claims that are made; (2) the targets for these claims; and (3) the strategies and tactics the movement adopts. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of undocumented youth movements given the increasingly hostile political context unfolding at the national level.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
1 December 2017
Research Article|
December 01 2017
HOW DO POLITICAL CONTEXTS SHAPE UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH MOVEMENTS? EVIDENCE FROM THREE IMMIGRANT DESTINATIONS*
Mobilization: An International Quarterly (2017) 22 (4): 451–471.
Citation
Edelina M. Burciaga, Lisa M. Martinez; HOW DO POLITICAL CONTEXTS SHAPE UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH MOVEMENTS? EVIDENCE FROM THREE IMMIGRANT DESTINATIONS. Mobilization: An International Quarterly 1 December 2017; 22 (4): 451–471. doi: https://doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-22-4-451
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionCiting articles via
INCUBATOR CAMPAIGNS AND CALIFORNIA’S IMMIGRANT RIGHTS MOVEMENT*
Maria De Jesus Mora<span class='al-author-delim'>, </span>Paul Almeida
THE STRENGTH OF PUSHBACK COLLECTIVE IDENTITY IN A FRAGMENTED MASS MOVEMENT*
Elise Lobbedez<span class='al-author-delim'>, </span>Lisa Buchter
BOOK REVIEWS
Elizabeth Borland