Christian Sullivan – Immigration Politics, Policymaking in the U.S.

POL334 assignment 2

Slide 1: In the first slide is the comparison between racial and ethic populations in IL-4 between 2007 and 2017. The district is predominantly Hispanic/Latino, and as I have mentioned in previous assignments, one of the most gerrymandered districts in the United states and is considered to be gerrymandered to incorporate areas with high Hispanic/Latino populations. The most noticeable change is the 27.1 percentage point decrease in the “other” race category from 2007-2017. I’m not sure as to why this is, but maybe it has to do with the domination of the Hispanic/Latino population in the district. The Hispanic population has actually decreased by 4.6 pp’s over the 10 years despite domination by the democratic party and pro-immigrant Rep’s, potentially due to the election of Trump and movement towards some of his proposed policies.

Slide 2: A lot of the literature included has to do with the change in sentiment that comes from media coverage of immigration along with increases in Hispanic populations and Trump’s rhetoric towards immigrants. That being said, this could be true of the non-Hispanic populations in the district, but they are the minority, with the most being white, and that still only encapsulating 22.4% of the population. Rep. Garcia is very pro-immigrant himself and intends to show support for immigrant groups in policy and in general. This could reverse some negative sentiment held by native populations, as well as continue to connect and integrate immigrant groups with the community.

Slide 3: This of course highlights predictions on how media coverage and Trump rhetoric will effect immigrant experience and public opinion. In regards to this, it seems that if the ethnic enclaves that are found in IL-4 will hold strong, and will of course be supported by Rep. Garcia in light of negative media coverage and anti-immigrant sentiment supported by Trump. It could also polarize those of white or native populations in IL-4 as a result of negative coverage and high immigrant/ Hispanic populations.

Slide 4: This just talks about looking to find out if anti-immigrant sentiment in the media and by Trump will truly echo this effect in the white and native populations in IL-4. I would do this by conducting a survey to ask questions regarding said sentiment, then comparing these survey results with each participants race, ethnicity and party association. This would help determine If the media is affecting their feelings towards immigrant groups, and if Rep Garcia’s attitude towards immigrants is doing anything to offset it.

As discussed in this weeks readings, interest groups and non profit 501c3’s stand as one of the most prominent sources of socioeconomic and political advocacy for immigrant groups (Andersen 2008, De Graauw 2008, McDermott 2013). They are able to work towards the political education and inclusion of immigrants into local politics, giving them support without singling them out. However, as we read, their capabilities of providing actual rights into participation of politics are limited to more local matters. The town/city in which immigrants are located in also plays a huge role in the availability and/or presence of any immigrant nonprofits or interests in the area, and consequently the political inclusion of immigrant groups in said area. For example, immigrant nonprofits and interest groups in San Francisco (De Graauw 2008) are much more prominent than in Greenville South Carolina (McDermott 2013), and thus immigrants in San Fransisco find themselves in a position of much greater political inclusion and advocacy.

While immigrants in some areas such as San Francisco might find themselves in a better position of political advocacy and socioeconomic support, others might find themselves quite stretched, if they have any immigrant non-profits at all. This article here talks about how an influx in families crossing the border has stretched both the time and resources of the Border Patrol and an El Paso non-profit called the Annunciation House. These organizations are in place to promote the interests of immigrants, sometimes socioeconomically and others of course politically as the readings highlight, but how must they handle a situation like this when the demand for their services increases past their capacity? Are organizations like this obligated to form in areas such as Greenville with little desire for immigrant integration? These organizations are already acting in a humanitarian fashion to help immigrants, but how should they decide between prioritizing political advocacy versus the basic needs of immigrants if they are stretched financially?

Author: Christian Sullivan

Population Demographics of the 4th Congressional District of Illinois

Interest Groups and Nonprofits: Who is left to institute immigrants into political society?