Policies to encourage socio-political participation of Latinx immigrants in the United States heavily rely on the primacy of assimilation processes resulting from immigrants’ exposure to the American political system alone. However, this approach overlooks the potential layers of complexity fostered by pre-immigration factors and how these interact with immigrants’ experiences in the U.S. We conduct a multinomial logit analysis using data from the 2006 Latino National Survey and emergent research on the impact of pre-immigration experiences to determine what factors can both activate participation and be influenced by institutions and policy makers in the U.S. Though we find that low levels of socio-political participation among Latinx immigrants strongly correlate with low levels of pre-immigration participation, for the outlier cases we analyze what factors contribute to increase participation once in the U.S. Results demonstrate the need for political parties and organizations to increase the long-term investment in young Latinx immigrants.
AparicioS. C. W. (2010). Immigrants’ political suitcases: A theory of imported socialization (Doctoral dissertation). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
2.
BarretoM.SeguraG. M.PantojaA. D. (2014). Unity and diversity. In BarretoM.SeguraG. M. (Eds.), Latino America: How America’s most dynamic population is poised to transform the politics of the nation (pp. 13–31). PublicAffairs. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/claremont/detail.action?docID=1681926
3.
BedollaL. G. (2006). Rethinking citizenship: Noncitizen voting and immigrant political engagement in the United States. In LeeT.RamakrishnanS. K.RamírezR. (Eds.), Transforming politics, transforming America: The political and civic incorporation of immigrants in the United States (pp. 51–70). University of Virginia Press.
4.
BedollaL. G. (2012). Latino education, civic engagement, and the public good. Review of Research in Education, 36(1), 23–42. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X11422666
BilodeauA.WhiteS. (2016). Trust among recent immigrants in Canada: Levels, roots and implications for immigrant integration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42(8), 1317–1333.
7.
BlackJ. H. (2011). Immigrant and minority political incorporation in Canada: A review with some reflections on Canadian-American comparison possibilities. American Behavioral Scientist, 55(9), 1160–1188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764211407843
8.
BlackJ. H.NiemiR. G.PowellG. B. (1987). Age, resistance, and political learning in a new environment: The case of Canadian immigrants. Comparative Politics, 20(1), 73–84.
9.
BohonS. A.MacPhersonH.AtilesJ. H. (2005). Educational barriers for New Latinos in Georgia. Journal of Latinos & Education, 4(1), 43–58.
10.
ChávezM.MonfortiJ. L.MichelsonM. R. (2015). Living the dream: New immigration policies and the lives of undocumented Latino youth. Paradigm Publishers.
CottrellD.HerronM. C.RodriguezJ. M.SmithD. A. (2018). Mortality, incarceration, and African American disenfranchisement in the Contemporary United States. American Politics Research, 47(2), 1532673X18754555. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X18754555
13.
DeSipioL. (2006). Do home-country political ties limit Latino Immigrant pursuit of U.S. civic engagement and citizenship? In RamírezR.RamakrishnanS. K.LeeT. (Eds.), Transforming politics, transforming America: The political and civic incorporation of Immigrants in the United States (pp. 106–126). University of Virginia Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=508810&site=ehost-live&scope=site
14.
DeSipioL. (2011). Immigrant incorporation in an era of weak civic institutions: Immigrant civic and political participation in the United States. American Behavioral Scientist, 55(9), 1189–1213. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764211407842
FinifterA. W.FinifterB. M. (1989). Party identification and political adaptation of American migrants in Australia. The Journal of Politics, 51(3), 599–630. https://doi.org/10.2307/2131497
FragaL. R.GarciaJ. A.HeroR.Jones-CorreaM.Martinez-EbersV.SeguraG. M. (2013). Latino national survey (LNS), 2006 (ICPSR 20862). Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.
19.
Frasure-YokleyL. (2015). Conclusion. In Frasure-YokleyL. (Ed.), Racial and ethnic politics in American suburbs (pp. 130–146). Cambridge University Press.
20.
HajnalZ.LeeT. (2006). Out of line: Immigration and party identification among Latinos and Asian Americans. In RamírezR.RamakrishnanS. K.LeeT. (Eds.), Transforming politics, transforming America: The political and civic incorporation of immigrants in the United States. University of Virginia Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=508810&site=ehost-live&scope=site
21.
Jones-CorreaM.AndalonM. (2008). The prior socialization of immigrants and their political participation in the United States. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA.
22.
JunnJ. (1999). Participation in liberal democracy: The political assimilation of immigrants and ethnic minorities in the United States. American Behavioral Scientist, 42(9), 1417–1438. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027649921954976
Lopez-BunyasiT. (2015). Brown ballots in the Buckeye State. In SanchezG. R. (Ed.), Latinos and the 2012 election: The new face of the American voter (pp. 109–128). Michigan State University Press. www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/j.ctt14bs138.13
25.
LovingK. A. (2017). The effect of high school junior reserve officers’ training corps (JROTC) on civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of hispanic cadets (Doctoral dissertation). Grand Canyon University.
26.
MasseyD. S.FischerM. J. (2000). How segregation concentrates poverty. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 23(4), 670–691.
27.
McCannJ. A.ChávezK. A. (2016). Partisanship by invitation: Immigrants respond to political campaigns. Journal of Politics, 78(4), 1196–1210.
28.
Nuñez-AlvarezA.Clark-IbáñezM.ArdónA. M.RamosA. L.PelliciaM. R. (2018). Cultivando respeto (cultivating respect): Engaging the Latino community. Metropolitan Universities, 29(2), 118–134. https://doi.org/10.18060/21758
29.
NuñoS. A. (2007). Latino mobilization and vote choice in the 2000 presidential election. American Politics Research, 35(2), 273–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X06297032
30.
PantojaA. D.JimenoR. A.RodríguezJ. M. (2013). The political consequences of Latino immigrant transnational ties. In LealD. L.LimónJ. E. (Eds.), Immigration and the border: Politics and policy in the new Latino century. University of Notre Dame Press. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/claremont/detail.action?docID=3441135
31.
PhanN.GarciaJ. A. (2009). Asian-Pacific-American partisanship: Dynamics of partisan and nonpartisan identities. Social Science Quarterly, 90(4), 886–910. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42940646
32.
PortesA.RumbautR. G. (2001). Legacies: The story of the immigrant second generation. University of California Press.
33.
RamakrishnanS. K.EspenshadeT. J. (2001). Immigrant incorporation and political participation in the United States. International Migration Review, 35(3), 870–909. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2001.tb00044.x
34.
RicardoR. (2007). Segmented mobilization: Latino nonpartisan get-out-the-vote efforts in the 2000 general election. American Politics Research, 35(2), 155–175. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X06296578
35.
RodriguezJ. M.JimenoR. A. (2007). The non-participant across borders: Linking immigrant political behavior in the country of origin to the United States. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Western Political Science Association, Las Vegas, NV.
36.
SanchezG. R.MasuokaN. (2010). Brown-utility heuristic? The presence and contributing factors of Latino linked fate. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32(4), 519–531. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986310383129
37.
SantiagoD. A.BrownS. (2004). Federal policy and Latinos in higher education. Pew Hispanic Center.
38.
SearsD. O. (1981). Life stage effects on attitude change, especially among the elderly. In RL KahnT. A.MarchJ. G.KieslerS. B.MorganJ. N.OppenheimerV. K. (Eds.), Aging: Social change (pp. 183–204). Academic Press.
39.
SearsD. O. (1983). The persistence of early political predispositions: The roles of attitude object and life stage. Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(1), 79–116.
40.
SearsD. O.LevyS. (2003). Childhood and adult political development. In SearsD. O.HuddyL.JervisR. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of political psychology (2nd ed., pp. 60–109). Oxford University Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-88243-003
41.
ValenzuelaA. A.MichelsonM. R. (2016). Turnout, status, and identity: Mobilizing Latinos to vote with group appeals. American Political Science Review, 110(4), 615–630. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541600040X
VoicuB.ComşaM. (2014). Immigrants’ participation in voting: Exposure, resilience, and transferability. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 40(10), 1572–1592.
44.
WainerA. (2006). The new Latino South and the challenge to American public education. International Migration, 44(5), 129–165.
45.
WaldingerR.SoehlT.LimN. (2012). Emigrants and the body politic left behind: Results from the Latino National Survey. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 38(5), 711–736. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2012.667978
WalsS. C. (2011). Does what happens in Los Mochis stay in Los Mochis? Explaining postmigration political behavior. Political Research Quarterly, 64(3), 600–611. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912909358577
48.
WalsS. C. (2013). Made in the USA? Immigrants’ imported ideology and political engagement. Electoral Studies, 32(4), 756–767.
49.
WhiteS.NevitteN.BlaisA.GidengilE.FournierP. (2008). The political resocialization of immigrants: Resistance or lifelong learning?Political Research Quarterly, 61(2), 268–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912908314713
50.
WilkinsonB. C. (2018). Stepping back or stepping out? Latinos, immigration, and the 2016 presidential election: An introduction and commentary. PS, Political Science & Politics, 51(2), 277–281.
51.
WongJ. S. (2000). The effects of age and political exposure on the development of party identification among Asian American and Latino immigrants in the United States. Political Behavior, 22(4), 341–371.
52.
Zepeda-MillánC.WallaceS. (2018). Mobilizing for immigrant and Latino rights under Trump. In MeyerD. S.TarrowS. (Eds.), The Resistance: The Dawn of the Anti-Trump Opposition Movement (pp. 90–108). UK: Oxford University Press.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
