Dynamic Modes of Incorporation Through Mobilization: Evidence from American Muslim Immigrant Communities

• In Event: 1407 - Immigrant Inclusion and Exclusion during the Trump and Obama Eras

Abstract

Growing research shows that immigrant collective action is integral to the incorporation process, yet studies largely assume mobilizing immigrants operate under uniform perceptions of exclusion. Less examined is the variation, within immigrant groups, in perceptions of exclusion, as they shape collective action and pursued modes of incorporation. Taking the case of American Muslim immigrants, I draw on evidence from 40 focus groups with ~200 Muslim immigrants, finding that: 1) divergent perceptions of exclusion among immigrants drive patterned forms of activism, creating intra-community segmentation over ideal modes of incorporation, and 2) through the acculturation experience of activism, Muslim activists can move from one group to another, where greater cultural knowledge shapes more nuanced understandings of the prospects for incorporation. I identify collective action as a mechanism of acculturation through which immigrants develop perceptions of society and their social location and generate commitments to particular modes of incorporation.

Author

• Hajar Yazdiha, University of Southern California