Finding Spaces of Inclusion: Schools, Latina Immigrant Mothers, and the Politics of Belonging

• In Event: 3251 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 4. Civic Incorporation and Belonging

Abstract

In this paper, I extend prior research on gendered processes of immigrant incorporation for Latina women in the United States. I argue that schools, as accessible institutions for immigrant children and their parents regardless of legal status, provide an important avenue for civic participation and belonging for Latina immigrant mothers. Using ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews with Latina immigrant women in a small northeastern city, I explore the role schools and school districts play in creating opportunities for belonging and integration, and how Latina immigrant mothers perceive and negotiate these spaces. Building on recent scholarship on “nested contexts of reception” (Golash-Boza & Valdez, 2018), I seek to document how these possible spaces of belonging are affected by the dual, competing paradigms of a local welcoming Sanctuary City and exclusionary, anti-immigrant national policies and discourses. Data collection is in early phases, but preliminary findings suggest that intentional use of Spanish and providing opportunities to voice discontent are significant gestures on behalf of the district, shaping mothers’ perceptions and experiences of participation, advocacy, and belonging. Through these inclusionary practices, schools may help shift symbolic and social boundaries, enabling Latina immigrant mothers to claim their right to belong and participate in their communities even in a virulently anti-immigrant moment in the nation’s history.

Author

• Sarah Bruhn, Harvard University