Creative Citizenship: The Impacts of Racialized Incorporation on Political Participation

Abstract

As immigrants incorporate into the United States, they are not entering a race-neutral country, instead they are entering the American racial hierarchy. How does the process of incorporation impact the political participation of immigrants of different races? I develop the theory of differential encouragement, which argues that immigrants of color are less likely to receive encouragement to participate in formal, electoral politics compared to white immigrants, resulting in lower rates of political participation. Despite being active in their communities in other, non-political ways, immigrants of color are less likely to have their voices heard through formal political channels. First, I test whether existing theories of immigrant incorporation and political participation can account for relative trends in immigrants’ political participation, and I establish the extent and nature of the political participation gap. Using the United States Census Current Population Survey Supplements (CPS) as well as the Cooperative Election Study (CES), I find that immigrants of color participate less in formal, electoral types of politics than their white immigrant counterparts, even when accounting for average differences in levels of resources and in later generations. These trends are consistent with the racial hierarchy theory and leave room for my theory of differential encouragement. Next, I develop my theory of differential encouragement using semi-structured interviews with over 50 individuals. These interviews reveal that immigrants of color often see politics differently compared to white immigrants, and the ways their networks encourage them to participate can be different. I test the theory of differential encouragement using a series of survey experiments fielded on Cint and Qualtrics. These survey experiments provide preliminary evidence in favor of the differential encouragement theory and a framework for how it can be used to encourage the political participation of immigrants of color. To understand the potential political power of immigrants and people of color in the United States, it is critical to examine when, how, and why they participate in politics. In a nation of immigrants, it is necessary to recognize that immigrants' political incorporation experiences vary by race and mobilization efforts will need to account for these differences.