Immigrant rights and social movements

Abstract

The disciplinary fields of immigration and social movements have largely developed as two distinct subareas of sociology. Scholars contend that immigrant rights, compared to other movements, have been given less attention in social movement research. Studies of immigrant-based movements in recent decades have reached a stage whereby we can now assess how immigrant movement scholarship informs the general social movement literature in several areas. In this article, we show the contributions of empirical studies of immigrant movements in four primary arenas of social movement scholarship: (a) emergence; (b) participation; (c) framing; and (d) outcomes. Contemporary immigrant struggles offer social movement scholarship opportunities to incorporate these campaigns and enhance current theories and concepts as earlier protest waves advanced studies of collective action.

A southwestern grassroots community coalition of undocumented Mexican community members: A location for bridging resources and sociopolitical action

“…Grassroots community coalitions have played an important role in mobilizing immigrant communities (Fox et al, 2011; Ramakrishnan & Viramontes, 2010; Zabin & Rabadán, 2002). Specifically, these community locations are a valuable space for collective action and change for undocumented Hispanic/Latinx community members (Chávez, 2011; Mora et al, 2018). Often developed based on a shared belief for social justice values that are derived from the experiences of “discrimination, economic marginalization, and persistent barriers to upward mobility” (Barvosa‐Carter, 2001, p.115), grassroots coalitions offer critical human, social, and legal resources to undocumented Hispanic/Latinx communities (Cordero‐Guzmán et al, 2008; Mora et al, 2018; Pantoja et al, 2008).…”

“…The social activism of both documented and undocumented Hispanic/Latinx people in the U.S. has been well positioned on the national stage—e.g., 1960s and 1970s Chicano movements (Munoz, 207) into the 21st century with the larger DREAMers movements (Forenza et al, 2017). However, the important role of community‐based civic organizations or coalitions developed by and for undocumented Hispanic/Latinx people in the U.S. is not adequately examined or discussed in research or other scholarly work (De Jesus Gates, 2017; Mora et al, 2018). Therefore, it is critical to highlight the work of grassroots community coalitions developed and maintained by, with , and for undocumented Hispanic/Latinx people in the U.S.…”

Diplomacias migrantes

“…El estudio de los activismos migrantes en Norteamérica es basto, y se ha abordado desde diversos acercamientos (Alund y Schierup, 2018; Bada y Glesson, 2019;Cohen y Schuster, 2019;Delgado Wise, 2018;Jones, 2019;Mora, Rodríguez y Almeida, 2018;Nichols, 2019;Pries, 2019;Rosenberger, Stern y Merhaut, 2019;Schütze, 2016;Voss y Bloemraad, 2011;Wee, Kudakwashe y Jinnah, 2018). Sobre activismos ante los procesos de deportación o retornos forzados en Norteamérica, el foco está en los jóvenes DACA y los Otros Dreamers, (Anderson, 2019;Caitlin, 2018;Cruz, 2016;Gonzáles, Brant y Roth, 2020;Seif, 2016) La propuesta que aquí hacemos, es incipiente y no ha sido desarrollada (activismos migrantes, diplomacia y procesos de deportación o retorno).…”

The Contradictions of Liminal Legality: Economic Attainment and Civic Engagement of Central American Immigrants on Temporary Protected Status

“…For instance, perceived unfair treatment and discrimination from employers and generally poor labor conditions, which also hamper economic advancement, can propel compensatory civic engagement(Kasinitz et al 2009;Milkman 2006;Mora et al 2018;Suárez-Orozco, Hernández, and Casanova 2015). Anti-immigrant hostility and restrictions may also encourage immigrant organizing and collective civic activities (Ebert and Okamoto 2013; Okamoto and Ebert 2010).Thus, blocked opportunities that arise from legal vulnerability can drive civic engagement among immigrants, even though participation in immigrant rights movements is uneven and can have different integrational outcomes depending on the objectives of the organization(Nicholls 2019).…”