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1 – 10 of over 2000Gia Barboza, Silvia Dominguez, Laura Siller and Miguel Montalva
The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between Mexicans’ support for the criminalization of immigration and level of police contact, fear of deportation and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between Mexicans’ support for the criminalization of immigration and level of police contact, fear of deportation and the perceived personal impact of immigration enforcement.
Design/methodology/approach
This analysis uses data from the 2008 National Survey of Latinos, a representative random sample of 1,153 self-identified Latino/as residing in the USA. The authors sought to identify the prevalence of Latino support for local police actively identifying undocumented immigrants and to examine the relationship between acculturation, confidence in the police and/or fear that immigrants increase neighborhood crime and support for the criminalization of immigration. The authors use logistic regression analysis and post-estimation techniques to explore the relationship between support for the criminalization of immigration and acculturation, discrimination, perceptions of crime and confidence in the police.
Findings
The authors found that Latino policy attitudes are not monolithic but differ by nativity and citizenship status and vary according to their level of confidence in fair and proper police enforcement of the law. Within levels of confidence, the authors found that the perception that immigrants increase local crime rates was a significant predictor of policy attitudes. Contrary to the authors’ expectations, neither previous contact with the criminal justice system nor being stopped and asked about immigration status predicted support for criminalizing immigration. Nor did level of support vary according to proficiency in English and perceptions of discriminatory treatment.
Practical implications
This study has implications for understanding how citizenship statuses influence public opinion on issues that are presumed to be reflective of a unified political voice.
Social implications
This study has implications for understanding the role of social stigma and political socialization and their relationship to Mexican citizens and non-citizens policy preferences.
Originality/value
No study to date has explored associations between Latinos’ policy attitudes on the criminalization of immigration and acculturation, fear of crime and confidence in the police.
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Federal immigration policy embodies national ideas about membership. Nevertheless, attitudes toward immigration within a nation are not invariable. Regional policies vary…
Abstract
Federal immigration policy embodies national ideas about membership. Nevertheless, attitudes toward immigration within a nation are not invariable. Regional policies vary dramatically in their support or antagonism toward immigrants. In addition, immigration policy profoundly affects other areas of governmental authority. This chapter explores the relationship between state-level immigration policy and family reunification for Hispanic/Latino children in the United States. The quantitative analysis utilizes data from the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) (2008–2014) as well as data gathered from the Child Welfare Outcomes Report published by the Department of Health and Human Services. The results show that while Hispanic/Latino children are not overrepresented in the child welfare systems of the states with the most antagonistic legislation, they are returned to the custody of their parent(s) in smaller percentages compared to whites in the states with the most antagonistic bills compared with the states with the most supportive bills.
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Guadalupe Vidales, Kristen M. Day and Michael Powe
Recent years have witnessed a national policy shift towards involving state and local police in enforcing US federal immigration laws. Critics argue that involving local police in…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent years have witnessed a national policy shift towards involving state and local police in enforcing US federal immigration laws. Critics argue that involving local police in enforcing immigration law will decrease Latino(a) and immigrant residents' willingness to report crime and their cooperation with the police, and will also increase racial profiling and negatively impact documented and undocumented residents. This paper aims to examine Latino(a) residents' perceptions of the police before and after an extended local controversy about involving police in enforcing immigration laws in Costa Mesa, California.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports findings of a before‐and‐after study in the Westside area of the City of Costa Mesa, California. Methods include Spanish and English language telephone surveys of Latino(a) and non‐Latino(a) residents in the Westside (n=169 respondents before and n=91 respondents after), conducted in 2002 and in 2007.
Findings
In survey responses, Latino(a) residents report that they are more likely to be stopped by the police in 2007 compared to 2002. Latino(a) respondents also have more negative perceptions of the police, find the police less helpful, feel less accepted in the community, and say that they are less likely to report crimes after the controversy, compared to before.
Originality/value
The findings show the importance of policies that encourage cooperation with and trust of the police. These results can help inform cities about the potential impacts of involving local police in immigration enforcement.
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Carol J. De Vita and Erwin de Leon
Purpose – To examine the role of Latino community-based nonprofits in integrating first- and second-generation Latino immigrants into mainstream society.Methodology/approach …
Abstract
Purpose – To examine the role of Latino community-based nonprofits in integrating first- and second-generation Latino immigrants into mainstream society.
Methodology/approach – This place-based study uses a mixed methods approach to analyze financial and administrative data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics and semi-structured interviews with organizational leaders.
Findings – Latino community-based nonprofits provide a wide range of programs and services to their constituents that promote the social and political mobility of Latino immigrants and their families. Findings also suggest a potential spatial mismatch between Latino-serving nonprofits and the people they serve. The organizations are concentrated in the Washington, DC metropolitan area while the Latino community is branching out into the outer suburbs of Maryland and Virginia. Moreover, different political and administrative structures and policies affect the ability of these nonprofits to serve their constituents.
Research limitations/implications – The study's geographic boundaries may limit the generalizability of spatial mismatch between Latino-serving nonprofits and their constituents. However, the findings about programs and services and the impact of political and administrative structures and policies can be applied to other immigrant-serving organizations.
Practical implications – Policy makers, elected officials, and other stakeholders can learn the importance of Latino and immigrant community-based nonprofits. These organizations act as bridges to the Latino and other immigrant communities.
Social implications – Latino and other immigrant community-based nonprofits are integral to the integration of immigrant communities as active and contributing members of wider society.
Originality/value of paper – This study looks at immigrant integration through the lens of community-based nonprofits.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between global and specific attitudes of unfair police treatment towards Mexican Americans and how attitudes towards the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between global and specific attitudes of unfair police treatment towards Mexican Americans and how attitudes towards the police vary with socio‐demographic characteristics, victim status, linguistic barriers, group consciousness and socially disorganized contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from the 2006 National Latino Survey, which is a representative random sample of 1,815 self‐identified persons of Mexican‐origin born in the USA were used to investigate three research questions: What is the prevalence in which Mexican‐Americans claim to be treated unfairly by the police?; What is the prevalence in which Mexican‐Americans perceive unfair treatment toward their ethnic group?; and Do cultural factors and/or heightened group consciousness and identity contribute to Mexican‐Americans perceptions of either specific or more generalized unfair police treatment? A structural equation model was developed to explore the relationship between global and specific measures of unfair police treatment and variables measuring socio‐demographic and linguistic characteristics, as well as socially disorganized contexts, group consciousness and identity.
Findings
Mexican‐Americans residing in socially disorganized contexts are significantly more likely to have positive global assessments of the police. The relationship between both social disorganization and specific and global attitudes was statistically significant. Individuals who have a strong sense of linked fate, possess a shared sense of common purpose and interest, and identify strongly with their ethnic group are significantly more likely to perceive that the police treat their group unfairly.
Research limitations/implications
The current investigation is limited by the nature of the data, which is based wholly on self‐report. In addition, while the frequency and nature of police contact plays a role in influencing negative perceptions of police encounters, it was not possible to assess those influences here. Finally, the current analysis is limited by the cross‐sectional nature of the data and no inferences regarding causality can be made.
Practical implications
This study has implications for the legitimacy of the criminal justice system and will help criminal justice actors understand the broader implications of police‐citizen interactions.
Social implications
The paper shows how social interactions are affected by group membership.
Originality/value
No study to date explores the relationship between group‐based identity, group consciousness and perceptions of unfair treatment by the police. These studies are usually limited to the political science literature.
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Ravi K. Perry and Joseph P. McCormick
To identify the Obama administration’s policy responsiveness to the (African) American LGBT communities.
Abstract
Purpose
To identify the Obama administration’s policy responsiveness to the (African) American LGBT communities.
Methodology/approach
Theory development and content analysis.
Findings
Civic universalism, as a theory, can explain President Obama’s evolution on his support for marriage rights for same-sex couples. Obama employed the concept of e pluribus unum in his many approaches to LGBT responsive politics.
Research limitations
To date, theoretical development within the social sciences of LGBT policy responsiveness is limited.
Originality/value
Very little is written on the subject of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered) politics in the 21st century. The study of the LGBT experience generally has been devoid of political variables because of a lack of attention toward LGBT issues, until recently, in national political party agendas. In this chapter, we review some of the contours of the LGBT community’s fight for political recognition in the United States as a precursor to the election and reelection of President Obama. Drawing parallels with presidential responsiveness toward Blacks in their quest for rights, we examine the Obama administration’s LGBT public policy initiatives as administrative policy and programs. We conclude by identifying new areas of research to explore on LGBT politics.
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Sam Torres and Ronald E. Vogel
To address a persistent crime problem in a large, high crime apartment complex occupied by Latino and Vietnamese immigrants in Garden Grove, California, the local police…
Abstract
To address a persistent crime problem in a large, high crime apartment complex occupied by Latino and Vietnamese immigrants in Garden Grove, California, the local police department opened a storefront office. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact this community policing effort had on the residents of the complex in terms of reducing fear of crime and improving attitudes towards the police. A questionnaire was administered to the residents before opening the storefront office and at the conclusion of the project. Despite group differences, the results revealed that the intervention had a positive impact on both groups. Overall, Latinos reported less fear of crime after the intervention and improved perception of the police. The Vietnamese reported more fear of crime than Latinos (pre and post) but less fear of crime after the intervention. However, their attitudes towards the police, which were very positive on the pretest, did not improve on the post‐test.
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S. Lorén Trull and Bruce A. Arrigo
This chapter examines the conundrum of juvenile immigration law and policy and argues that it is a present-day manifestation of “child-saving” in rhetoric, disposition, and human…
Abstract
This chapter examines the conundrum of juvenile immigration law and policy and argues that it is a present-day manifestation of “child-saving” in rhetoric, disposition, and human capital harm. In support of this thesis, the chapter reviews the pertinent human rights, law, and social science evidence, and it concludes that the maintenance of the nation’s existing immigration policy only makes sense within the context of the intentions of the 19th century child-saving movement. To substantiate this view, the political-economic drivers of contemporary US immigration policy (i.e., its child-saving dynamics) are explored. The chapter concludes by speculatively addressing the character (i.e., the form and quality) of modern-day juvenile immigration policy as child-saving informed by the philosophy and criticism of Psychological Jurisprudence (PJ).
Julia Teresa Atiles, Jonathan Robert Douglas and Martha Allexsaht-Snider
The purpose of this study was to explore early childhood teachers’ sense of efficacy for working with immigrant children. In addition, this study examined the relationship of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore early childhood teachers’ sense of efficacy for working with immigrant children. In addition, this study examined the relationship of early childhood teachers’ sense of efficacy to their multicultural attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
Ninety early childhood teacher participants completed a demographic questionnaire, as well as the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale, long form (Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) and Teacher Multicultural Attitude Survey (Ponterotito et al., 1998).
Findings
The statistical analysis resulted in a significant difference found between teachers’ sense of efficacy when working with Latinos versus when working with Marshallese students, t(82) = 4.64, p < 0.001, and that the teachers’ sense of efficacy was positively correlated with their multicultural attitudes score, r = 0.266, p = 0.013.
Research limitations/implications
The finding that early childhood teachers have differing levels of efficacy for working with different populations of immigrants, and that efficacy seems to be linked to multicultural attitudes, has implications for teacher educators and for professional development initiatives.
Practical implications
This appears to be an important starting point for professional learning efforts directed at teachers with lower levels of efficacy for working with their diverse students.
Originality/value
There was no prior research done focusing on different immigrant populations and the corresponding teachers’ sense of efficacy when working with them. The results shown support the idea that teachers’ multicultural attitudes appear to be significantly linked to their sense of efficacy, when working with immigrant students, especially within the area of student engagement.
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