A Distant Claim to Belonging -The Impact of an Anti-Immigrant Administration on 1.5-Generation Undocumented Adults

• In Event: International Migration Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 03. Anti-immigrant policies & consequences

Abstract

Undocumented immigrants, who come to the United States as children, known as the 1.5 generation, or Dreamers, grow up claiming to be “Americans without papers.” Despite being born outside the United States, this population’s assimilation process mirrors that of children of immigrants born in the U.S. (Portes and Rumbaut 2011). Their arrival as children, upbringing in this country, and general acceptance have led this population to claim a long-standing American identity, despite not being legal citizens (Chavez et al. 2014). Their persistent identity as Americans has been significantly influenced by their time spent in formative institutions, such as schools, where their immigration status is not contested (Gonzales 2016). A significant amount of research has been conducted on undocumented students, their upbringing, and formation as a result of their socialization within educational spaces (Abrego 2008, 2011, Suarez-Orozco and Teranishi, 2014, Gonzales 2016, Negron-Gonzalez 2015, 2016). However, less is known about their incorporation trajectory once this group leaves these settings, and particularly how their claims to belonging evolve over time. Grounding my research in the scholarship on immigrant integration, this paper examines the impact of Trump’s anti-immigrant regime on 1.5-generation undocumented adults. Drawing on 21 in-depth interviews with Latino 1.5-generation undocumented adults, I examine the impact that anti-immigrant sentiments have on participants' claims to belonging. I argue that Trump’s first term marked a critical rupture in the incorporation trajectories of this population. The findings demonstrate that Trump's tenure was a pivotal moment, increasing social and legal exclusion, prompting them to critically reassess their claims to belonging in the United States. In doing so, the interviews demonstrate that hostile anti-immigrant regimes, like the one experienced, not only have material consequences but can also transform the subjective relationship individuals have with claims to belonging.

Author

• Mariana Magana, University of California Irvine