Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T20:10:23.150Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Why Do Immigrants Participate in Politics Less Than Native-Born Citizens? A Formative Years Explanation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2019

Ruoxi Li Open the ORCID record for Ruoxi Li [Opens in a new window]  and
Bradley M. Jones
Ruoxi Li*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, CA92096
Bradley M. Jones
Affiliation:
Independent scholar
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: R. Li, Department of Political Science, California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, CA, 92096. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

One of the long-standing puzzles in the political behavior literature is about immigrants' low level of political participation: after achieving comparable and sometimes even higher levels of socioeconomic status relative to the native-born citizens, why do immigrants still participate less in politics? We argue that the different formative years experiences associated with immigrants who moved to the United States at an older age is the key that explains the participation gap between immigrants and the native-born population. Using the 1994–2016 Current Population Survey and their Voting and Civic Engagement Supplements as data sources, we develop a hierarchical model that simultaneously accounts for region-, country-, and individual-level variables. The results are striking. We show that immigrants who move to the United States at a young age participate in politics at a rate that is indistinguishable from the native-born population; those who migrated at an older age participate less. The fact that over 60% of the immigrant population moved to the United States as adults is a main factor that contributes to the political participation gap between immigrants and the native-born population.

Keywords

Political participationimmigrantsformative yearsage at immigration
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 62 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © The Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abrego, Leisy J. 2011. “Legal Consciousness of Undocumented Latinos: Fear and Stigma as Barriers to Claims-Making for First- and 1.5-Generation Immigrants.” Law & Society Review 45 (2): 337–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alwin, Duane F and Krosnick, Jon A.. 1991. “Aging, Cohorts, and the Stability of Sociopolitical Orientations Over the Life Span.” American Journal of Sociology 97 (1): 169–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartels, Larry M and Jackman, Simon. 2014. “A Generational Model of Political Learning.” Electoral Studies 33: 7–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bass, Loretta E and Casper, Lynne M.. 2001. “Impacting the Political Landscape: Who Registers and Votes among Naturalized Americans?” Political Behavior 23 (2): 103–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Paul Allen and Kent Jennings, M.. 1982. “Pathways to Participation.” The American Political Science Review 76 (1): 94–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bedolla, Lisa García and Michelson, Melissa R.. 2012. Mobilizing Inclusion: Transforming the Electorate Through Get-Out-the-Vote Campaigns. New Haven: Yale University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berelson, Bernard R., Lazarsfeld, Paul F., McPhee, William N. and McPhee, William N.. 1954. Voting: A Study of Opinion Formation in A Presidential Campaign. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Bernstein, Robert, Chadha, Anita and Montjoy, Robert. 2001. “Overreporting Voting: Why It Happens and Why It Matters.” Public Opinion Quarterly 65 (1): 22–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butler, David and Stokes, Donald. 1969. Political Change in Britain: Forces Shaping Electoral Choice. 1st ed. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Callahan, Rebecca M, Muller, Chandra and Schiller, Kathryn S.. 2010. “Preparing the Next Generation for Electoral Engagement: Social Studies and the School Context.” American Journal of Education 116 (4): 525–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E. and Stokes, Donald E.. 1980. The American Voter. Abridged ed. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Cho, Wendy Tam. 2002. “Tapping Motives and Dynamics Behind Campaign Contributions Insights From the Asian American Case.” American Politics Research 30 (4): 347–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cho, Wendy K. Tam, Gimpel, James G. and Wu, Tony. 2006. “Clarifying the Role of SES in Political Participation: Policy Threat and Arab American Mobilization.” The Journal of Politics 68 (4): 977–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Converse, Philip E. 1969. “Of Time and Partisan Stability.” Comparative Political Studies 2 (2): 139–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delli Carpini, Michael. 2004. “Mediating Democratic Engagement: The Impact of Communications on Citizens’ Involvement in Political and Civic Life.” In Handbook of Political Communication Research, ed. Kaid, Lynda Lee. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 395–434.Google Scholar
Dinas, Elias. 2014. “Why Does the Apple Fall Far From the Tree? How Early Political Socialization Prompts Parent-Child Dissimilarity.” British Journal of Political Science 44 (4): 827–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Firebaugh, Glenn and Chen, Kevin. 1995. “Vote Turnout of Nineteenth Amendment Women: The Enduring Effect of Disenfranchisement.” American Journal of Sociology 100 (4): 972–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraga, Bernard L. 2016. “Candidates or Districts? Reevaluating the Role of Race in Voter Turnout.” American Journal of Political Science 60 (1): 97–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franklin, Mark N. 2004. Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies Since 1945. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garcia Bedolla, Lisa and Michelson, Melissa. 2009. “What Do Voters Need to Know? Testing the Role of Cognitive Information in Asian American Voter Mobilization.” American Politics Research 37: 254–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerber, Alan S, Green, Donald P and Shachar, Ron. 2003. “Voting May Be Habit-Forming: Evidence From A Randomized Field Experiment.” American Journal of Political Science 47 (3): 540–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hajnal, Zoltan L. 2009. “Who Loses in American Democracy? A Count of Votes Demonstrates the Limited Representation of African Americans.” American Political Science Review 103 (1): 37–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hajnal, Zoltan L. and Lee, Taeku. 2011. Why Americans Don't Join the Party: Race, Immigration, and the Failure (of Political Parties) to Engage the Electorate. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckhausen, Jutta, Wrosch, Carsten and Schulz, Richard. 2010. “A Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development.” Psychological Review 117 (1): 32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, P. J. and Sears, David O.. 2009. “The Crystallization of Contemporary Racial Prejudice Across the Lifespan.” Political Psychology 30 (4): 569–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hero, Rodney E and Campbell, Anne G.. 1996. “Understanding Latino Political Participation: Exploring the Evidence From the Latino National Political Survey.” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 18 (2): 129–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, Robert D., Torney-Purta, Judith V. and Valsiner, Jaan. 2005. The Development of Political Attitudes in Children. 1st ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transaction.Google Scholar
Janoski, Thomas and Wilson, John. 1995. “Pathways to Voluntarism: Family Socialization and Status Transmission Models.” Social Forces 74 (1): 271–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent. 1987. “Residues of A Movement: The Aging of the American Protest Generation.” The American Political Science Review 81 (2): 367–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent. 2002. “Generation Units and the Student Protest Movement in the United States: An Intra- and Intergenerational Analysis.” Political Psychology 23 (2): 303–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent and Niemi, Richard G.. 1974. The Political Character of Adolescence: The Influence of Families and Schools. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent and Niemi, Richard G.. 1981. Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahne, Joseph E and Sporte, Susan E.. 2008. “Developing Citizens: The Impact of Civic Learning Opportunities on Students’ Commitment to Civic Participation.” American Educational Research Journal 45 (3): 738–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kam, Cindy D, Zechmeister, Elizabeth J. and Wilking, Jennifer R.. 2008. “From the Gap to the Chasm: Gender and Participation among Non-Hispanic Whites and Mexican Americans.” Political Research Quarterly 61 (2): 205–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruikemeier, Sanne and Shehata, Adam. 2017. “News Media Use and Political Engagement Among Adolescents: An Analysis of Virtuous Circles Using Panel Data.” Political Communication 34 (2): 221–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kulkarni, Veena S and Hu, Xiaohan. 2014. “English Language Proficiency Among the Foreign Born in the United States, 1980–2007: Duration, Age, Cohort Effects.” International Migration Review 48 (3): 762–800.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lai, James S, Tam Cho, Wendy K., Kim, Thomas P. and Takeda, Okiyoshi. 2001. “Asian Pacific-American Campaigns, Elections, and Elected Officials.” PS: Political Science & Politics 34 (03): 611–17.Google Scholar
Leighley, Jan E and Vedlitz, Arnold. 1999. “Race, Ethnicity, and Political Participation: Competing Models and Contrasting Explanations.” The Journal of Politics 61 (4): 1092–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mannheim, Karl. 1952. Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge. London, UK: Routledge & K. Paul.Google Scholar
Markus, Gregory B. 1985. Dynamic Modeling of Cohort Change: The Case of Political Partisanship. In Cohort Analysis in Social Research, eds. Mason, William M. and Fienberg, Stephen E.. New York: Springer, 259–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massey, Douglas S. and Sanchez, Magaly R.. 2010. Brokered Boundaries: Immigrant Identity in Anti-Immigrant Times. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Massey, Douglas S, Arango, Joaquin, Hugo, Graeme, Kouaouci, Ali, Pellegrino, Adela and Edward Taylor, J.. 1993. “Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal.” Population and Development Review 19 (3): 431–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massey, Douglas S, Arango, Joaquin, Hugo, Graeme, Kouaouci, Ali, Pellegrino, Adela and Edward Taylor, J.. 1994. “An Evaluation of International Migration Theory: The North American Case.” Population and Development Review 20 (4): 699–751.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massey, Douglas S, Durand, Jorge and Malone, Nolan J.. 2002. Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
McCann, James A and Chávez, Katsuo A. Nishikawa. 2016. “Partisanship by Invitation: Immigrants Respond to Political Campaigns.” The Journal of Politics 78 (4): 1196–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFarland, Daniel A and Thomas, Reuben J.. 2006. “Bowling Young: How Youth Voluntary Associations Influence Adult Political Participation.” American Sociological Review 71 (3): 401–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McPhee, William N and Ferguson, Jack. 1962. Political Immunization. In Public Opinion and Congressional Elections, eds. McPhee, William N. and Glaser, William A.. New York: The Free Press of Glencoe, 155–79.Google Scholar
Meadow, Robert G. 1982. “Information and Maturation in Children's Evaluation of Government Leadership During Watergate.” The Western Political Quarterly 35 (4): 539–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merelman, Richard M and King, Gary. 1986. “The Development of Political Activists: Towards A Model of Early Learning.” Social Science Quarterly 67 (3): 473–90.Google Scholar
Michelson, Melissa R, García Bedolla, Lisa and McConnell, Margaret A.. 2009. “Heeding the Call: The Effect of Targeted Two-Round Phone Banks on Voter Turnout.” The Journal of Politics 71 (4): 1549–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Steven D and Sears, David O.. 1986. “Stability and Change in Social Tolerance: A Test of the Persistence Hypothesis.” American Journal of Political Science 30 (1): 214–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mohamed, Heather Silber. 2017. The New Americans?: Immigration, Protest, and the Politics of Latino Identity. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Pantoja, Adrian D, Ramirez, Ricardo and Segura, Gary M.. 2001. “Citizens by Choice, Voters by Necessity: Patterns in Political Mobilization by Naturalized Latinos.” Political Research Quarterly 54 (4): 729–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plutzer, Eric. 2002. “Becoming A Habitual Voter: Inertia, Resources, and Growth in Young Adulthood.” The American Political Science Review 96 (1): 41–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portes, Alejandro and Fernández-Kelly, Patricia. 2008. “No Margin for Error: Educational and Occupational Achievement among Disadvantaged Children of Immigrants.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620: 12–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portes, Alejandro and Rumbaut, Rubén G.. 2001. Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation. First printing edition ed. Berkeley, New York: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Portes, Alejandro, Fernández-Kelly, Patricia and Haller, William. 2009. “The Adaptation of the Immigrant Second Generation in America: Theoretical Overview and Recent Evidence.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 35 (7): 1077–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ramakrishnan, Subramanian Karthick. 2005. Democracy in Immigrant America: Changing Demographics and Political Participation. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Ramakrishnan, S. Karthick and Espenshade, Thomas J.. 2001. “Immigrant Incorporation and Political Participation in the United States.” International Migration Review 35 (3): 870–909.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, Brent W and Mroczek, Daniel. 2008. “Personality Trait Change in Adulthood.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 17 (1): 31–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rumbaut, Rubén G. 2008. “The Coming of the Second Generation: Immigration and Ethnic Mobility in Southern California.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620 (1): 196–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rumbaut, Rubén G and Komaie, Golnaz. 2010. “Immigration and Adult Transitions.” Future of Children 20 (1): 43–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryder, Norman B. 1965. “The Cohort as A Concept in the Study of Social Change.” American Sociological Review 30 (6): 843–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuman, Howard and Corning, Amy. 2012. “Generational Memory and the Critical Period: Evidence for National and World Events.” The Public Opinion Quarterly 76 (1): 1–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuman, Howard and Rieger, Cheryl. 1992. “Historical Analogies, Generational Effects, and Attitudes Toward War.” American Sociological Review 57 (3): 315–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silver, Brian D, Anderson, Barbara A. and Abramson, Paul R.. 1986. “Who Overreports Voting?” American Political Science Review 80 (2): 613–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Elizabeth S. 1999. “The Effects of Investments in TheSocial Capital of Youth on Political and Civic Behavior in Young Adulthood: A Longitudinal Analysis.” Political Psychology 20 (3): 553–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stegmueller, Daniel. 2014. “Bayesian Hierarchical age-Period-Cohort Models with Time-Structured Effects: An Application to Religious Voting in the US, 1972–2008.” Electoral Studies 33 (Supplement C): 52–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoll, Michael A and Wong, Janelle S.. 2007. “Immigration and Civic Participation in A Multiracial and Multiethnic Context.” International Migration Review 41 (4): 880–908.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Schlozman, Kay Lehman, Brady, Henry and Nie, Norman H.. 1993. “Race, Ethnicity and Political Resources: Participation in the United States.” British Journal of Political Science 23 (4): 453–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wals, Sergio C. 2011. “Does What Happens in Los Mochis Stay in Los Mochis? Explaining Postmigration Political Behavior.” Political Research Quarterly 64 (3): 600–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wals, Sergio C. 2013. “Made in the USA? Immigrants’ Imported Ideology and Political Engagement.” Electoral Studies 32 (4): 756–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, Janelle. 2006. Democracy's Promise: Immigrants & American Civic Institutions. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Li and Jones supplementary material

Online Appendix

Download Li and Jones supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 79.9 KB