Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T01:21:13.816Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Peripheral Matters: The Emergence of Legalized Politics in Local Struggles Over Unauthorized Immigration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Doris Marie Provine ,
Martha Luz Rojas‐Wiesner  and
Germán Martínez Velasco
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

National immigration policy meets the realities of unauthorized immigration at the local level, often in ways undesired by residents, as exemplified by the dramatic rise of local anti‐immigrant legislation in US states and municipalities. Scholars have studied why some states and municipalities, but not others, engage in immigration policy making. Such research is not designed, however, to evaluate how the basic structure of US government facilitates and shapes local protest. To probe that issue, we compare Chiapas, Mexico and Arizona, USA, both peripheral areas significantly affected by unauthorized immigration and national policies designed to control it. We find that the open texture of US federalism facilitates local activism, while Mexico's more centralized government does not. Activists within both states are similar, however, in deploying law creatively to critique national policy, a reminder of the growing worldwide significance of legal pluralism and legal consciousness in the politics of protest.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Social Inquiry , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , Summer 2014 , pp. 601 - 620
Copyright
Copyright © American Bar Foundation, 2014 

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

Agnew, John 2008. Borders on the Mind: Re‐Framing Border Thinking. Ethics & Global Politics 1 (4): 175–191.Google Scholar
Alba, Francisco, and Castillo, Manuel Ángel 2012. New Approaches to Migration Management in Mexico and Central America. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.Google Scholar
Andreas, Peter 2000. Border Games: Policing the U.S.‐Mexico Divide. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Arizona Republic. 2013. Maricopa County Jail Leads US in ICE Holds. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/20130225maricopa‐county‐jail‐leads‐us‐ice‐holds.html (accessed March 30, 2014).Google Scholar
Bailey, Lynn 1983. Bisbee, Queen of the Copper Camps. Tucson, AZ: Westernlore Press.Google Scholar
Beltran Santana, Salvador 2008. Personal interview, Tapachula, Mexico.Google Scholar
Benhabib, Seyla 2005. The Rights of Others: Aliens, Residents and Citizens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Boehm, Deborah 2012. Intimate Migrations: Gender, Family, and Illegality Among Transnational Mexicans. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Border Action Network (BAN). 2012. Twelve Political Principles. http://www.borderaction.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=57 (accessed April 20, 2012).Google Scholar
Castillo, Manuel Ángel 2003. Mexico‐Guatemala Border: New Controls on Transborder Migrations in View of Recent Integration Schemes? Frontera Norte 15 (029): 35–65.Google Scholar
Castillo, Manuel Ángel 2006. Mexico: Caught Between the United States and Central America. Migration Information Source, April 1.Google Scholar
Castillo, Manuel Ángel 2011. Caught Between Two Migration Realities, Mexico Passes New Immigration Legislation. Migration Information Source, December 1.Google Scholar
Chavez, Jorge M., and Provine, D. M. 2009. Race and the Response of State Legislatures to Unauthorized Immigrants. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 92:623–678.Google Scholar
Chavez, Leo R. 2008. The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Chua, Lynette J. 2012. Pragmatic Resistance, Law, and Social Movements in Authoritarian States: The Case of Gay Collective Action in Singapore. Law & Society Review 46 (4): 713–748.Google Scholar
Colby, Benjamin, and van den Berghe, Pierre 1961. Ethnic Relations in Southeastern Mexico. American Anthropologist 63 (4): 772–792.Google Scholar
Collins, Stephen 2010. Indigenous Rights and Internal Wars: The Chiapas Conflict at 15 Years. Social Science Journal 47:733–788.Google Scholar
Coutin, Susan 2001. Cause Lawyering in the Shadow of the State: A US Immigration Example. In Cause Lawyering and the State in a Global Era, ed. Sarat, Austin and Scheingold, Stuart, 117–140. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cruz, Hugo Ángeles 2011. Flujos Laborales de Guatemala a la Frontera de Chiapas. Ecofronteras 41:8–11.Google Scholar
Cruz Burguete, Jorge Luis 1998. Identidades en Fronteras, Fronteras de Identidad. Elogio de la Intensidad de los Tiempos en los Pueblos de la Frontera Sur. Mexico City: Centro de Estudios Sociológicos, El Colegio de México.Google Scholar
de Genova, Nicholas 2010. Theoretical Overview. In The Deportation Regime: Sovereignty, Space, and the Freedom of Movement, ed. de Genova, Nicholas and Peutz, Nathalie, 1–32. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Diaz, Gabriela, and Kuhner, Gretchen 2007. Women Migrants in Transit and Detention in Mexico, Migration Information Source (March). http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/women‐migrants‐transit‐and‐detention‐mexico (Accessed March 31, 2014).Google Scholar
Eagly, Ingrid 2011. Local Immigration Prosecution: A Study of Arizona Before SB1070. UCLA Law Review 58:1749–1817.Google Scholar
Economist. 2004. The Kamikazes of Poverty. Economist 8360:33–34.Google Scholar
Emmond, Kenneth 2007. Is Mexico Ready for Federalism? Mexidatainfo, January 22. http://mexidata.info/id1217.html (accessed March 4, 2013).Google Scholar
Epp, Charles 2011. Making Rights Real: Activists, Bureaucrats, and the Creation of the Legalist State. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Fabian, Jordan 2013. Transcript: Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/transcript‐bipartisan‐framework‐comprehensive‐immigration‐reform/story?id=18330912 (accessed March 4, 2013).Google Scholar
Farmer, Paul 1998. A Visit to Chiapas. America 178 (10): 14–18.Google Scholar
Flores, Luis Eduardo 2008. Personal interview, Tapachula, Mexico.Google Scholar
García, Héctor Pérez 2008. Personal interview, Tapachula, Mexico.Google Scholar
Gomez, Laura E. 2007. Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Gordon, Linda 1999. The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hirschl, Ran 2006. The New Constitution and the Judicialization of Pure Politics Worldwide. Fordham Law Review 75 (2): 721–753.Google Scholar
Inkpen, Christopher 2012. Security and Human Rights Issues on the Guatemalan/Mexican Border. Center for Strategic and International Studies. http://csis.org/blog/security‐and‐human‐rights‐issues‐guatemalanmexican‐border‐chris‐inkpen (accessed May 20, 2012).Google Scholar
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). 2010. Tabulados Básicos, Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010. http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/proyectos/ccpv/cpv2010/Default.aspx (accessed December 16, 2012).Google Scholar
Johnson, Benjamin J., and Graybill, Andrew R. 2010. Bridging National Borders in North America. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, Jennifer 2008. The Forgotten Border: Migration and Human Rights at Mexico's Southern Border. http://www.lawg.org/storage/documents/forgotten%20border.pdf (accessed on March 31, 2014).Google Scholar
Kagan, Robert 2001. Adversarial Legalism: The American Way of Law. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Kang, S. Deborah 2010. Crossing the Line: The INS and the Federal Regulation of the Mexican Border. In Bridging National Borders in North America, ed. Johnson, Benjamin and Graybill, Andrew R., 167–198. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Kovic, Christine, and Kelly, Patty 2005. “A Just Cause”: Central American Migrants and Mexico's Southern Border. Houston Catholic Worker 15 (6): 1–5.Google Scholar
la Jeunesse, William 2006. Arizona Sheriff Uses Anti‐Smuggling Law to Target Illegal Immigrants. Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,195083,00.html (accessed April 20, 2012).Google Scholar
Lewis, Paul G., Provine, D. M., Varsanyi, M. W., and Decker, S. H. 2012. Why Do (Some) City Police Departments Enforce Federal Immigration Law? Political, Demographic, and Organizational Influences on Local Choices. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 23 (1): 1–25.Google Scholar
Mahnken, Winifred 1993. Mi Vida en los Cafetales: Tapachula (1882–1992). Chiapas, Mexico: Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas.Google Scholar
McCann, Michael 2006. Law and Social Movements. Annual Review of Law and Social Science 2:17–38.Google Scholar
McDowell, Meghan, and Provine, Doris Marie 2013. SB1070: Testing the “Frustration” Hypothesis. In Latino Politics and International Relations, ed. Magana, Lisa, 55–78. London: Springer.Google Scholar
Merchant, David 2003. Prospects for Mexican Federalism. Policy Studies Journal 31 (4): 661–666.Google Scholar
Meyers‐Galemba, Rebecca B. 2012. Making Ttheir Own Customs: Contraband and Community Border Control on the Mexico‐Guatemala Border. Unpublished paper, available from corresponding author.Google Scholar
Migration Policy Institute (MPI). 2011. Caught Between Two Migration Realities, Mexico Passes New Immigration Legislation. Issue #10, December 1. http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/print.cfm?ID=871 (accessed May 21, 2012).Google Scholar
Miroff, Nick, and Booth, William 2011. In Southern Mexico, a Neglected Frontier. Washington Post, June 21. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/in‐southern‐mexico‐a‐neglected‐frontier/2011/06/20/AGt74KeH_story.html (accessed May 20, 2012).Google Scholar
Moore, Sally Falk 1973. Law and Social Change: The Semi‐Autonomous Social Field as an Appropriate Subject of Study. Law & Society Review 7 (4): 719–746.Google Scholar
Nevins, J. 2002. Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond: The War on “Illegals” and the Remaking of the U.S.–Mexico Boundary. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Newton, Lina 2012. Policy Innovation or Vertical Integration? A View of Immigration Federalism from the States. Law & Policy 34 (1): 113–137.Google Scholar
Ngai, Mae M. 2004. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
No More Deaths (NMD). 2012. http://www.nomoredeaths.org/Information/history‐and‐mission‐of‐no‐more‐deaths.html (accessed April 20, 2012).Google Scholar
Perales, Nina 2013. Shelby County v. Holder: Latino Voters Need Section 5 More than Ever. SCOTUSblog. http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/02/shelby‐county‐v‐holder‐latino‐voters‐need‐section‐5‐today‐more‐than‐ever/ (accessed March 3, 2013).Google Scholar
Plascencia, Luis F. B. 2012. Inclusion Through Exclusion: Arizona's Employer Sanctions Law (2008–2012). Paper presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Law & Society Association, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 4–8.Google Scholar
Provine, Doris Marie, and Varsanyi, Monica, eds. 2012. Special Issue. Law & Policy 34 (2).Google Scholar
Ramakrishnan, S. Karthick, and Wong, Tom 2010. Partisanship, Not Spanish: Explaining Municipal Ordinances Affecting Undocumented Immigrants. In Taking Local Control: Immigration Policy Activism in U.S. Cities and States, ed. Varsanyi, Monica W., 73–96. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Rojas‐Wiesner, Martha Luz 2007. Mujeres y Migración en la Frontera Sur de Mexico. Amérique Latine Histoire et Mémorie Les Cahiers ALHIM 14:1–15.Google Scholar
Rojas‐Wiesner, Martha Luz 2008. Personal interview, Tapachula, Mexico.Google Scholar
Rojas‐Wiesner, Martha Luz 2011. Haciendo Distinciones en la Dinámica Migratoria. Ecofrontieras 41:12–15.Google Scholar
Rubio‐Goldsmith, Raquel, McCormick, M. Melissa, Martinez, Daniel, and Duarte, Inez Magdalena 2006. The “Funnel Effect” & Recovered Bodies of Unauthorized Migrants Processed by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, 1990–2005. Tucson, AZ: Binational Migration Institute, Mexican American Studies & Research Center at the University of Arizona.Google Scholar
Santos, Fernanda 2012a. Effort to Secure Border Crimps Commerce Along It. New York Times, December 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/us/effort‐to‐secure‐border‐crimps‐commerce‐along‐it.html?_r=0 (accessed March 4, 2013).Google Scholar
Santos, Fernanda 2012b. In Arizona, Immigrants Make Plans in Shadows. New York Times, April 19. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/us/arizona‐illegal‐immigrants‐adapt‐to‐a‐crackdown.html (accessed April 20, 2012).Google Scholar
Singer, Audrey, Hardwick, Susan, and Brettell, Caroline 2008. Twenty‐First Century Gateways: Immigrant Incorporation in Suburban America. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Sinema, Krysten 2012. No Surprises: The Evolution of Anti‐Immigrant Legislation in Arizona. In Punishing Immigrants: Policy, Politics, and Injustice, 62–89, New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
US Government Accountability Office (USGAO). 2006. Illegal Immigration: Border‐Crossing Deaths Have Doubled Since 1995. GAO‐06‐770. Washington, DC: US Government Accountability Office.Google Scholar
Varsanyi, Monica W. 2010. Neoliberalism and Nativism: Local Anti‐Immigrant Policy Activism and an Emerging Politics of Scale. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 35 (2): 295–311.Google Scholar
Wells, Miriam J. 2004. The Grassroots Reconfiguration of U.S. Immigration Policy. International Migration Review 38 (4): 1308–1347.Google Scholar

Statutes Cited

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.Google Scholar
Immigration Act of 1917.Google Scholar
Passport Act of 1918.Google Scholar
SB1070.Google Scholar