Despite campaign rhetoric, U.S. immigrants remain civically engaged

Jay McCann. (Purdue University photo)
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Some politicians say they are refugees who fled hardships and struggles abroad; others argue they are undocumented immigrants who illegally sought passage into the United States.

This year’s midterm election ignited campaign rhetoric around immigration. Under intense scrutiny and often used as a political tool, noncitizens in the U.S., however, have not shown signs of disenfranchisement, but rather have displayed a surprising amount of civic resiliency, said political scientist Jay McCann, who studies the political behavior of Latino immigrants.

“Immigrants are highly sensitive as a group to political signals, whether they are signals of hostility or signals that are welcoming,” said McCann, a professor of political science at Purdue University. “In this time of turbulence, when immigrants are facing newfound and unexpected hostilities, do these signals dampen their enthusiasm for engaging with politics? Do they create a lot cynicism? Are they corrosive for civic attitudes, or not? I have not found evidence of a kind of withdrawal from collective political life; actually, just the opposite.”

For the past decade, McCann has surveyed thousands of Mexicans and Latino Americans to assess their attitudes on politics, citizenship and civic incorporation. Most recently, he surveyed 1,800 randomly selected Latino immigrants before and after the 2016 presidential election to assess how their behavior and attitudes changed.

“Immigrants who began the study being much more trusting of American governing institutions and officials compared to the U.S.-born population became far more apprehensive following the election,” McCann said. “But, as it happens, that rise in cynicism was not matched by hostility toward Americans in general. On average, there was not a significant uptick in the desire of ‘self-deportation,’ or to leave the country voluntarily.”

McCann’s preliminary findings show one-third of respondents recommended a candidate to someone else with voting rights, while one-tenth of respondents reported going to a campaign rally or meeting of some kind.

“We recognize a democracy as being good to the extent that is accessible to everybody,” McCann said. “Somebody without voting rights still can go to school board meetings or can volunteer in local civic groups or neighborhood watch groups. The fact that immigrants are involved in informal political engagement – I see that as a sign of health in a democracy.” 

Writer: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu  

Source: James McCann, 765-494-0738, mccannj@purdue.edu