Exploring Newcomers Experiences using LatCrit

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Latinidad in Context

Abstract

This paper employs contra-cuento (counter-storytelling) to challenge dominant U.S. immigration narratives, centering Latine (im)migrant experiences in Texas public schools. Using Latine Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), we critique the Ellis Island paradigm for centering whiteness and erasing non-European (im)migrants’ racialized struggles with citizenship and belonging. Through composite characters derived from newcomer students’ responses,highlighting their agency and resilience in an exclusionary educational system. Our analysis reveals how Latine (im)migrants navigate schooling shaped by white supremacy, exposing systemic barriers to inclusion. By foregrounding marginalized voices, this study underscores the role of race in shaping (im)migrant experiences and advocates for structural educational reform. Grounded in LatCrit’s tenets, we resist subordination and amplify collective empowerment, contributing to scholarship that reimagines equity for historically oppressed communities.

Authors

• Robert J. Lynn, Texas Tech University

• Sara Garcia, Texas Tech University

• Weverton Ataide Pinheiro, Texas Tech University