Immigrant Political Incorporation: The Role of Hometown Associations

Immigrant Political Incorporation: The Role of Hometown Associations
Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro
January 2014

ISBN-13:  978-1-59332-721-7 / Hardcover
Dimensions:  5.5 x 8.5 / viii, 220 pages

Price   $70.00

Description

Vonderlack-Novarro examines Chicago’s coalition of first-generation Mexican hometown associations and their rocky path towards U.S. political inclusion moving from the mass immigrant marches of 2006 to the U.S. presidential elections of 2008. While hometown associations have been known as transnational organizations influenced by the Mexican government, by 2008 U.S. voting drives were a central strategy. The strategy, however, came with costs: weakening the will to mobilize for marches, internal fragmentation between leaders as they vied for recognition with stronger organizations and government leaders, and a political context that offered few concessions towards immigrants along with intensified national and local repression.

About the Author

Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro holds a PhD from The University of Chicago, where she focused on immigrant political incorporation. Her current work identifies policy supports to bolster teacher preparation to meet the needs of Illinois’ diverse English language learners. Rebecca also worked in community development in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to support research on microfinance programming.