States of Immigration: The History, Culture, and Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion

FAIN: RZ-249870-16

University of Oregon (Eugene, OR 97403-5219)
Daniel Tichenor (Project Director: December 2015 to June 2022)

Preparation for a book, state-specific reports, several articles, and conference and workshop papers on four states of immigration with very different and revealing traditions and policies: Arizona and New Mexico in the Southwest, and the Beltway States of Maryland and Virgina.

This proposed project, States of Immigration, will provide the first in-depth, comparative analysis of the distinctive history, culture, and governing regimes of specific states shaping immigrant inclusion and exclusion. Our study trains a spotlight on four states of immigration with very different and revealing traditions and policies: Arizona and New Mexico in the Southwest and the Beltway States of Maryland and Virgina. The new knowledge will allow us to understand when and why a state's response to immigration is inclusive or exclusive and how the reaction to immigration impacts the character and culture of the state more broadly. We offer new insights on how integration is shaped by not just who the immigrant is, but also where one settles and when one arrives.

Associated Products

“The Uneven Welcome: Immigrants and Ethnic Groups in the States” (Article)
Title: “The Uneven Welcome: Immigrants and Ethnic Groups in the States”
Author: Robin Jacobson
Author: Daniel Tichenor
Author: Elizabeth Durden
Abstract: In “The Uneven Welcome,” we illuminate how Arizona and New Mexico responded to new immigrants and national political pressures in the early decades of the twentieth century. Put another way, an important story can be told about immigrant inclusion and exclusion in the states that complements national conceptions of belonging. This article argues that while at its founding, New Mexico was a more inclusive space for a Mexican-origin population and Mexican immigrants, other immigrant groups received a chillier if not repressive response. In particular, New Mexico highlights ways in which inclusive political culture and policies do not extend to all immigrants but only immigrants who have already fought for and won inclusion for their cultural or racial identity. Inclusion of some often rests on triangulation with other “outsiders.” For its part, Arizona continually refused to integrate immigrants and non-white ethnics into their state, but remained steadily reliant on immigrant labor. Our findings also highlight the extent to which immigrant experiences, even in relation to key national policies, often vary across states.
Year: 2018
Access Model: subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Journal of American Ethnic History
Publisher: Journal of American Ethnic History

“Contingent Belonging: Diversity, Power, and Identity in the U.S. Southwest" (Article)
Title: “Contingent Belonging: Diversity, Power, and Identity in the U.S. Southwest"
Author: Daniel Tichenor
Author: Robin Jacobson
Abstract: “Contingent Belonging” explains that when the U.S. forcibly subsumed Arizona and New Mexico during the Mexican-American War, these territories vexed federal officials because their large Spanish-speaking populations of Mexican descent conflicted with dominant conceptions of national identity. Today these two states are at ground zero in a ferocious battle over immigrant rights, and they present competing nativist and pluralistic policy responses to undocumented immigrants and Latino residents. This article tackles the question of why two U.S. states that share much in common –a border with each other and with Mexico, nearly identical geography and historical birth as members of the U.S., and large Latino and immigrant populations – diverged in the worlds they created for diverse ethnic and racial groups including immigrants.We develop an analytic narrative that shows how three crucial dynamics fueled the development of two rival racial regimes in the American Southwest: federal relations, group power, and distinct claims of national belonging.
Year: 2019
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

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