I’m Undocumented & Unafraid”: Becoming a Latina/o Undocuactivist

• In Event: 399 - Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) Research Session. Issues in Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration

Abstract

Systems of power and inequality as well as the intersectionality between race, class, gender, sexuality, and immigration status impact marginalized communities. For instance, undocumented immigrants are constantly depicted and treated as ‘illegals’ who are physically present but legally non-existent in society, which impacts their daily lives. To be sure, undocumented immigrants are deeply affected by the militarization of the border, interior policing strategies, draconian anti-immigrant policies, as well as a rising number of deportations. Yet, rather than representing docile bodies that are subject to discipline and control, a group of Latina/o undocumented immigrants are using their agency to generate social change. While activism involving the plight for immigrant rights is not a new phenomenon, research on activism among undocumented immigrant youth and young adults has largely focused on the experiences of “DREAMers.” As such, there is a lack of literature on undocumented immigrant activists who have moved beyond the DREAMer movement and have instead embraced a collective identity as individuals who are ‘undocumented and unafraid.’ Drawing on fifty in-depth interviews, physical and virtual fieldwork, analyses of protest art, and social media, my research examines the experiences of Latina/o undocuactivists, which I define as undocumented immigrant young adult activists who are no longer remaining in the shadows due to their lack of legal status in the U.S. and are engaging in mobilizing efforts that would expand the rights of all immigrants. Therefore, in this paper, I analyze how Latina/o undocuactivists are playing a crucial role in contesting illegality, fighting for immigrant rights, and creating social change. Certainly, understanding activism among Latina/o undocuactivists reveals key pathways by which historically castigated and stigmatized social groups are capable of rectifying and potentially reversing their prescribed positions in society. While much theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to the civil rights efforts of African Americans in the Jim Crow era, Latina/o undocuactivists force a new framework for studying social movements in a so-called “post-racial” America.

Author

• Joanna B Perez, California State University Dominguez Hills