“No Way! Like Only Hispanics are Illegal”: Examining the Racialized Psychosocial Development of Migrant “Illegality” Across Immigrant Groups in the United States

Abstract

Building on recent studies of “racialized illegality,” this paper examines the psychosocial development of migrant “illegality” in a sample of ethnically and racially diverse immigrant young people. In-depth interviews and fieldnotes were collected in Chicago with White, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Latina/o immigrants (N = 43; 14–33 years of age; 15 male, 28 female) who were undocumented and/or grew up in families with at least one undocumented parent, and who were asked to reflect on these experiences. Drawing upon the cycles of deportability framework, we theorize the psychosocial development of migrant “illegality” as a dynamic process driven by repeated, cyclical experiences with status-related stressors that regularly prompt acute fears as well as carry long-term psychosocial effects. Examining these cycles within our respondents’ reflections, we find discernible differences in both the types of status-related stressors and contexts of support experienced by Latina/o and non-Latina/o respondents, pointing to different cycles of deportability that vary along racial-ethnic lines. We maintain that these findings reflect the racialized context of migrant “illegality” in the United States, which targets primarily Latina/o migrants, as well as points to the need for increased supports for undocumented immigrants in non-Latina/o immigrant communities.