Moral Entrepreneurs: Culture, Crime, and Work on Buffalo’s West Side

• In Event: 2166 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 13: Reception & Perceptions of Migrants

Abstract

Abstract
Using in-depth interview data from 20 native-born whites and content analysis data from 170 newspaper and magazine articles, I examine how immigrants and refugees are perceived and portrayed in an urban community in Western New York. I found that comments about immigrants were mostly positive. Along the dimensions of crime, culture, and work, they were seen as contributors rather than as invaders. Interview responses fell into three categories: (1) immigrants were laborers, entrepreneurs, and good neighbors, (2) immigrants were welcome in the community, and (3) immigrants were not criminal or national security threats. In the newspapers and magazines I analyzed, (1) culture and entrepreneurialism were framed as contributions to the community, and (2) refugees and other migrants are viewed as conformist entrepreneurs achieving success through legitimate means. Emphasis was placed on immigrant work ethic and how they were achieving the American Dream. I argue that immigrant instrumentality shaped these positive attitudes and images. However, these portrayals and perceptions are problematic in the sense that they perpetuate the model minority myth. In this paper, I unpack the disjunction between the broader anti-immigrant climate and these responses and problematize the perpetuation of the model minority myth through seemingly positive portrayals and perceptions.

Author

• Watoii Rabii, Oakland University