Racializing American Authenticity: Mexican Americans’ Perceptions of the Foreign Other

Abstract

Anti-Mexican sentiment in the United States has long plagued the lives of people of Mexican descent. Since their incorporation, Mexican Americans have experienced processes of racialization as second-class citizens while a continuous anti-immigrant climate continues to impact them. This has influenced their use of a white racial frame resulting in their distancing of themselves from perceived foreign-ness. Drawing on 15 in-depth interviews with self-identified Mexican Americans along the U.S.-Mexico border, we find that divisions between the two nations have become embedded in the lived experiences of those residing in the borderland region. The themes raised by our respondents illustrate how Mexican Americans use notions of illegality, belonging to a nation, and the dangerous other to differentiate themselves from foreign-born Mexicans and the ways they address immigration. We argue that Mexican Americans living in a transnational border space navigate their everyday lives as racialized beings, resulting in their search for ways to situate themselves apart from the foreign other. We argue that the larger implications for understanding how Mexican Americans use the white racial frame is significant since their embedded ideas and beliefs are founded upon racist nativist differences that are used to create and support policies that target racialized others.