The always-contentious politics of immigration policy erupted in 2006 into street demonstrations that were among the largest in American history. The size of these marches, numbering in the hundreds of thousands in some cities, surprised even the organizers. The precipitating event was the approval by the House of Representatives of H.R. 4437, a proposal by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) that would have criminalized illegal presence in the United States and punished anyone who aided these immigrants. In the spring following the December 2005 House vote on H.R. 4437, as many as 260 separate demonstrations occurred in cities large and small across the United States. The protests were distinctive, not only in their size and scope but also in their peacefulness and almost festive quality. Demonstrators brought their families, with some pushing strollers. The marches succeeded in derailing Sensenbrenner's legislation; the Senate refused to consider the House bill. Prospects for comprehensive immigration reform hospitable to immigrants, however, remain uncertain.
The sudden manifestation of political force by masses of people not accustomed to collective political action deserves our attention. What organizational network underlay these events? Are marches like this likely to occur again? With what political effect? Kim Voss and Irene Bloemraad set out to answer these questions with a team of investigators focused on setting immigrant activism within the larger frame of American politics. With Taeku Lee, Voss and Bloemraad provide a helpful introductory chapter that situates the more specifically directed chapters that follow. They draw upon two relevant literatures: studies of political behavior within mainstream politics and research on the contentious political strategies that emerge in social movements.
The literature of both political behavior and social movements offers useful clues on how to study the marches, but neither is a good fit with these events for reasons explored by the authors of Rallying for Immigrant Rights. For example, while political-behavior research suggests the crucial role of motivation, means, and mobilization in explaining individual political action, the problem here is how to explain collective action for nonmaterial ends that was pursued in the absence of familiar political structures and with few monetary resources. The social movement literature also has limitations when applied to the 2006 marches. The mobilizing structures were local, varied, and geographically dispersed. Political framing tended to be reactive, changing in light of public reception to demonstrations. A second introductory chapter by Ted Wang and Robert Winn reinforces these themes of adaptability and political evolution in the immigrant rights movement.
The remaining chapters seek to explain in more detail how the protests came to be and what they mean for immigrant empowerment and American politics. Spanish-language radio, nationally syndicated radio hosts, labor unions (particularly the Service Employees International Union), the Catholic Church, and community-based organizations all played significant roles in organizing the protest and persuading people to participate despite the risks for some of them. Family is another important theme in this section. The protests were an occasion not just for parents to introduce their children to political action in the traditional model of political learning, but also for children to educate parents about issues and to encourage family members to march. The threats to family posed by the Sensenbrenner legislation provided a strong rationale for participation, as these chapters show.
What did these protests accomplish? Clearly, they evoked a sense of unity of purpose and provided a show of political capacity that had not been evident before. But it is also true that at about the same time that the Sensenbrenner proposal was defeated in Congress, the executive branch of the US government stepped up its enforcement efforts. For the first time in decades, federal immigration agents conducted large-scale raids. Deportations increased and continue to climb despite reduced immigration. The timing of the marches also coincides with the rise of state and municipal legislation directed at immigrants. Much of this subnational legislation has been designed to reinforce the federal government's own increasingly restrictionist approach. The promise of comprehensive immigration reform also grew dimmer in the years following these protests. Politicians have learned from example to shy away from strongly pro-immigrant positions, sapping the energy for legislative reform.
Louis DeSipio's chapter asks the reader to look at the issue of reform through the eyes of an elected official. From this perspective, the likelihood of immigrant-friendly legislation in the near future is uncertain at best. The growing number of Latino voters and rising sense of Latino political empowerment has occurred in places not likely to change their political positions. Ruth Milkman takes a more positive view in her chapter, based on her reading of the political coalitions that are forming between unions and immigrants. One is left with the sense that things could go either way, depending on the capacity of immigrants to impress political actors with their power through the alliances they are able to make.
The strengths of this book are many. It does a good job of describing the dance of protest and political backlash in immigration politics, with its cycles of political risk and learning. The essays are rich in detail, with many anchored in theoretical concerns about political action familiar to political scientists. Immigration scholars will appreciate the attention to the institutional infrastructure that underlies political action. Spanish-language programming, for example, may be an important factor in future protests. As this book reveals, the influence of the Catholic Church can be considerable, particularly if it becomes linked with the increasingly pro-immigrant positions taken by Christian evangelical churches. The chapters on the role of youth in these protests are particularly valuable in light of President Barack Obama's recent decision to use prosecutorial discretion to provide nearly a million young people with a reprieve from the threat of deportation. While it remains unclear what DREAMers (named for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) will do with their newfound capacity for political engagement, what does seem certain is that their activism will draw in family members who are older and younger who might otherwise not step forward.
The weaknesses of this book are common to many edited volumes. The chapters do not draw much upon one another and some of the descriptive material is repetitive. There is too much emphasis on protests in Los Angeles and not enough on the way they unfolded elsewhere. The rise of local legislation and the devolution of federal authority to the local level do not figure strongly enough into this story, despite their potential for galvanizing political action (namely, SB 1070). I missed a broader sense of past protests that have drawn large groups briefly to the streets.
Rallying for Immigrant Rights has the potential to be a useful book, not only for audiences that include scholars and activists but also for students in classes on immigration politics, social movements, and American politics. It is well organized, accessible, and sufficiently detailed for young readers who view 2006 as a long time ago. It aspires to, and often succeeds in, engaging standard works on political mobilization and provides helpful bridges to other literatures. This book also provides useful guideposts to those seeking a way through the fog of immigration politics by pointing out the kinds of political developments to watch for and the sorts of institutions that bear further study.
