Rallying for Immigrant Rights : The Fight for Inclusion in 21st Century America

From Alaska to Florida, millions of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets across the United States to rally for immigrant rights in the spring of 2006. The scope and size of their protests, rallies, and boycotts made these the most significant events of political activism in the United States since the 1960s. This accessibly written volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of this historic moment. Perfect for students and general readers, its essays, written by a multidisciplinary group of scholars and grassroots organizers, trace the evolution and legacy of the 2006 protest movement in engaging, theoretically informed discussions. The contributors cover topics including unions, churches, the media, immigrant organizations, and immigrant politics. Today, one in eight U.S. residents was born outside the country, but for many, lack of citizenship makes political voice through the ballot box impossible. This book helps us better understand how immigrants are making their voices heard in other ways. "From Alaska to Florida, millions of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets across the United States to rally for immigrant rights in the spring of 2006. The scope and size of their protests, rallies, and boycotts made these the most significant events of political activism in the United States since the 1960s. This accessibly written volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of this historic moment. Perfect for students and general readers, its essays, written by a multidisciplinary group of scholars and grassroots organizers, trace the evolution and legacy of the 2006 protest movement in engaging, theoretically informed discussions. The contributors cover topics including unions, churches, the media, immigrant organizations, and immigrant politics"--Provided by publisher. "From Anchorage, Alaska to Miami, Florida, millions of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets to rally for immigrant rights in the spring of 2006. The size and scope of their protests rivaled celebrated demonstrations from earlier decades for workers' rights, civil rights, or the end of war. Why and how did the immigrant rights' protests occur? Why did they end so abruptly? What is their legacy? This book is the first to address these questions by bringing together a broad, multidisciplinary account of the immigration rights rallies, protests, and boycotts of spring 2006. Drawing on top academics in the fields of sociology, political science, and Latino studies, as well as those involved with grassroots organizing and public policy debates, this volume covers the antecedents, evolution, and legacy of the 2006 protests, including discussions of unions, churches, media, immigrant organizations, and the landscape of immigration politics in the United States. More than one in eight U.S. residents were born outside the country in 2006, but lack of citizenship silences the political voice of the majority of these people through the ballot box. The peaceful demonstrations of 2006 highlight an alternative way immigrants can make their voices heard"--Provided by publisher. Contents Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments What Happened? The Historically Unprecedented Mobilizations of Spring 2006 1. The Protests of 2006: What Were They, How Do We Understand Them, Where Do We Go? 2. Groundswell Meets Groundwork: Building on the Mobilizations to Empower Immigrant Communities Mobilization Dynamics: Why and How the Protests Happened 3 Mobilization en Español: Spanish-Language Radio and the Activation of Political Identities 4. Building the Labor-Clergy-Immigrant Allince 5. From Prayer to Protest: The Immigrant Rights Movement and the Catholic Church 6 Mobilizing Marchers in the Mile-High City: The Role of Community-Based Organizations 7. Migrant Civic Engagement 8. Regarding Family: New Actors in the Chicago Protests 9. It’s a Family Affair: Intergenerational Mobilization in the Spring 2006 Protests Looking Forward: Whither American Politics and Immigrant Rights Mobilization? 10 L.A.’s Past, America’s Future?: The 2006 Immigrant Rights Protests and Their Antecedents 11. Drawing New Lines in the Sand: Evaluating the Failure of Immigration Reforms from 2006 to the Beginning of the Obama Administration 12 The Efficacy and Alienation of Juan Q. Public Th e Immigration Marches and Latino Orientations toward American Political Institutions 13. Out of the Shadows, into the Light: Questions Raised by the Spring of 2006 References Contributors Index "From Alaska to Florida, millions of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets across the United States to rally for immigrant rights in the spring of 2006. The scope and size of their protests, rallies, and boycotts made these the most significant events of political activism in the United States since the 1960s. This accessibly written volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of this historic moment. Perfect for students and general readers, its essays, written by a multidisciplinary group of scholars and grassroots organizers, trace the evolution and legacy of the 2006 protest movement in engaging, theoretically informed discussions. The contributors cover topics including unions, churches, the media, immigrant organizations, and immigrant politics. Today, one in eight U.S. residents was born outside the country, but for many, lack of citizenship makes political voice through the ballot box impossible. This book helps us better understand how immigrants are making their voices heard in other ways."-- Provided by publisher