Resourced formalization: strategic positioning of an emerging immigration bond fund at the border

• In Event: Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 10: Organizations

Abstract

This paper analyzes the formalization process of a social movement collective into a nonprofit. The collective, which I call Libertad, sends volunteers to visit detained migrants and asylum seekers in detention centers in and around El Paso, Texas, on the US-Mexico border. As the first Trump Administration ramped up its immigration crackdown, the collective quickly shifted gears and created a bond fund to help release detained migrants. This process sheds light on the relationship between resources and political opportunities (Ramos 2008). Specifically, on how resources and their acquisition do not create political opportunities, but rather, expand the strategies available to movement organizations (Jasper 2011).

Author

• Alejandro Márquez, University of South Florida