Shifting Political Frames in the Undocumented Student Movement

• In Event: Undocumented but Undaunted: The Political and Social Landscape of Latina/o DREAMers

Abstract

On July 20, 2010, twenty-one undocumented immigrant students challenged the nation when they sat down in a coordinated act of civil disobedience in Washington, DC. As a result of their protest, these young men and women—from Illinois, California, Missouri, Michigan, Virginia, Arizona, New York, and Kansas—were arrested by law enforcement and detained by US Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE) officers. This action came on the heels of two months of escalated actions—sit-ins, hunger strikes, and acts of civil disobedience—across the country, as undocumented youth symbolically and physically stepped out of the shadows and into the streets. While this action elicited reactions one might expect from immigration restrictionists who frame them as “illegal” and “lawbreakers,” it also raised the ire of long-time supporters.

A spokesperson for Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill), author and long-time champion of the DREAM Act said, “Today’s demonstrations by some DREAM Act supporters…crossed the line from passionate advocacy to inappropriate behavior…Senator Durbin believes that we will win this fight on the merits, not through public demonstrations or publicity stunts.” This reaction, while a public admonishment to the students involved in these protests, was also an attempt to win back the frame of undocumented youth that had prevailed for nearly ten years, that of the innocent child who has played by the rules.

This paper traces the genesis and development of the undocumented student movement. In doing so, it pays particular attention to the ways in which political frames have been employed by students and advocates alike to further political goals. In my observations over the last five years, these political frames have shifted from narrow, singular portraits of innocent, high-achieving Americans, to more sophisticated and multi-dimensional proclamations of undocumented youth and young adults with agency. It is my argument here that this kind of shift occurred precisely as the youth assumed more control of the movement and the messaging. Indeed, as the above example illustrates, the ascendance of the undocumented student movement challenges even advocates, precisely at the level of framing.

These events have taken place before a larger backdrop of stalled momentum on the legislative front, an economic downturn, and a general turn in the tide against immigrants. However, over these last few years, organizing efforts around the country have picked up in both number and intensity. Like most large-scale movements, the broader immigrants’ rights movement is one of diverse agendas, tactics, and frames. And, with various actors seeking policy gains, a slight split has emerged between groups advocating for a more comprehensive immigration package and a smaller bill aimed at broader educational access and legalization for a smaller subgroup. While the debates between immigration restrictionists and immigration reformers have been contentious, those between comprehensive immigration reform advocates and immigrant student supporters have been no less spirited.

The current struggle to control the political frame and the shift from the “innocent children” image to that of the unafraid and unapologetic undocumented protester parallel a larger shift regarding who controls the larger movement.

Author

• Roberto G. Gonzales, University of Chicago