“I passed as a young cholita”: How Undocumented Immigrants Perform Latino-Americanness to Cross the U.S.-Mexico Border

• In Event: Latina/o Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Roundtable 1: Migration, Place, and Latinx Belonging

Abstract

Using in-depth interviews with undocumented Latino immigrants who successfully crossed the border undetected through the ports of entry, this paper examines the strategies they use to perform Latino-Americanness in their interactions with border agents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Findings reveal that immigrants draw on racialized notions of Latino-Americanness, which relies on stereotypes and assumptions of Latinos in the U.S. These performances vary based on age and gender: young adults invoke the second-generation Latino-American through the Chicano, young adult women use attractiveness and femininity, and children perform innocence using the Latino family. I demonstrate the various ways Latinos perform racialized Latino-Americanness, highlighting the complexity and diversity of Latinidad in the U.S. This paper also reveals that racial stereotypes can at times be leveraged to gain access to spaces of control and surveillance, such as the port of entry. By examining performances of racialized Latino-Americanness in Latinos, we can see how the concept of belonging in the U.S. extends beyond whiteness.

Author

• Angie Belen Monreal, University of California-Irvine