Latino mobilization in new immigrant destinations: The Anti-H.R. 4437 protest in Nebraska's cities

Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, Louis DeSipio, Celeste Montoya

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

We use the 2006 immigrant-rights protests as a point of departure to test whether political opportunity structures aligned to spur widespread immigrant mobilization in new immigrant destinations. The existing immigrant mobilization scholarship would predict the absence of protest in areas of new migration because of their low levels of immigrant civic infrastructure. Through a detailed study of the immigrant-rights protests and their aftermath in Nebraska, we find that the unifying effect of the anti-immigrant legislation on immigrant-ethnic communities nationally allowed immigrants and their leaders to seize the opportunities presented by shifting local politics, new communications technologies, and the growing migrant civil societies in new destinations to spur widespread, if short-lived, mobilization.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)718-735
Number of pages18
JournalUrban Affairs Review
Volume44
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

Keywords

  • Immigration
  • Latinos
  • Mobilization
  • New destinations
  • Protests

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Urban Studies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Latino mobilization in new immigrant destinations: The Anti-H.R. 4437 protest in Nebraska's cities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this