Latinx Immigrant Divisions: The Radio and Digital Media during Rumored ICE Raids

• In Event: 2333 - Latino/as

Abstract

On February 12-14th, 2017 there were rumors of an ICE raid in a small East Texas city. Reports that ICE was present circulated on social platforms and radio stations in the area. Consequently, the Latinx community had high anxiety and fear of deportation. In this paper, we assert that mobilization within the Latinx community, combining both people of legal status and those of liminal status, remained faithful to Spanish-language radio for more reliable and trustworthy information. While social platforms, like Facebook, provided immediate information, respondents found the information to contribute to broader community fear. We investigated the affordances and limitations of Facebook and radio talk shows as forums of information and cultural solidarity. Further, our findings suggest that heightened threats of deportation can accentuate divisions among the Latinx community based on fallacies regarding criminality and immigration. The Latinx community in our study internalized the notion of the "good" immigrant as the basis of worthiness to stay in the USA as a central feature to alleviate their anxiety about deportation.

Authors

• Beatriz Aldana Marquez, Texas State University

• Apryl A. Williams, Harvard University

• Nancy Plankey-Videla, Texas A&M University-College Station

• Selene Diaz, Texas A&M Univeristy