Politics of Threat, the Legacy of Prop 187, and the Evolution of Latino Politics

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

Earthquakes and Aftershocks: Politics of Threat, the Legacy of Prop. 187, and the Evolution of Latino Politics since 1990

Prior to 1994, the conventional wisdom indicated that immigrants were less prone to participate politically and were less likely to mobilize in response to political threat. Since Proposition 187 was passed by the majority of the state’s voters, there was a dramatic change in the composition and behavior of Latino voters in California. The new conventional wisdom is that, once registered to vote, Latino immigrants participate at greater rates than their native-born counterparts. Much of this is due to increased rates of naturalizations and voter registration as a result of a politically threating environment. While evidence from California seems to confirm the hypothesis that group threat mobilizes Latinos, there is emerging evidence that this phenomenon has taken place nationally. Pantoja, Ramirez, and Segura’s (2001) article, “Citizens by Choice, Voters by Necessity” points to mobilization effects in California as a response to state-level political threat. Other works have documented the anti-immigrant climate in California and suggested political mobilizing effects. However, nearly every study on group threat and mobilization since Pantoja et al. (2001) has focused on California (e.g., Bowler, Nicholson, and Segura 2006), or has only found strong effects in California (Ramirez 2013). In this panel, we will focus on the legacy of Proposition 187 and the effects of politically threatening environments. In particular panelists will explore whether anti-immigrant threat is felt at a national level by Latinos of different origins, and generations, and how threat mobilizes beyond the specific context of California.
The panel will consist of a mix of established and younger scholars of Latino politics who study the causes and consequences of political threat. It also will include practitioners who witnessed the evolution of the Latino electorate since 1990 and can speak to the continuing relevance of this phenomenon as witnessed in electoral politics and civic engagement efforts. The panelists will include:

Chair: Gary Segura, UCLA, Dean of the Luskin School of Public Affairs
Discussant: Matt Barreto, UCLA, Professor of Political Science and Chicano Studies
Panelists:
Ricardo Ramirez, University of Notre Dame, Associate Professor of Political Science and Latino Studies
Angie Gutierrez, UCLA, PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science
Chris Zepeda, UCLA, Associate Professor, Chicano Studies and Public Policy
Lisa Sanchez, University of Arizona, Assistant Professor, Government
Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
Amanda Renteria, National Political Director for Hillary Clinton 2016
Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO of Latino Community Foundation

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Chair

• Gary M. Segura University of California, Los Angeles

Presenters

• Ricardo Ramirez University of Notre Dame

• Matt A. Barreto University of California, Los Angeles

• Lisa May Sanchez University of Arizona

• Chris Zepeda-Millan UCLA

• Angela Gutierrez University of Texas at Austin

• Arturo Vargas National Association of Latino Elected Officials