"You Have to Be More Worthy": Latino Undocumented Young Adults and the Politics of Deservingness in Receptive and Hostile Contexts

This panel explores how State imposed categories defining individuals’ legal status (e.g. undocumented, refugee, citizen) are lived, contested, and re-defined on the ground. It captures how three unique Latina/o groups... [ view full abstract ]

This panel explores how State imposed categories defining individuals’ legal status (e.g. undocumented, refugee, citizen) are lived, contested, and re-defined on the ground. It captures how three unique Latina/o groups negotiate questions of citizenship and belonging across immigration status, legal contexts, and intersectional identities. The first two papers explore how the claims-making processes of undocumented Mexican-origin young adults differ across legal context, specifically across states (California and Georgia) and over time (before and after the implementation of DACA). The second two papers delve into how local processes of racialization and colonial experiences impact claims and understandings of citizenship. Specifically, how undocumented immigrants’ status claims reflect colonial/racial projects unique to urban global spaces, and how the broader racialization of Latinos as foreign and colonial legacies impact Puerto Ricans’ understandings of their “legally” defined citizenship. Through these cases, this panel addresses how conceptions of “worth” and “deservingness” evolve across groups and in distinct contexts as individuals seek to carve out a space for themselves in the national community.

Edelina M. Burciaga
I examine how Latino undocumented young adults (ages 18-30) experience the immigrant deservingness frame and what this means for their everyday experiences of (il)legality. Data includes 12 months of fieldwork and 70 interviews with Latino undocumented young adults in Los Angeles, California and Atlanta, Georgia. I examine the emergence of the “DREAMER” frame and its unintended consequences. I develop the concept of the “burden of proof of immigrant worthiness” and show how state laws and policies in hostile and receptive contexts heighten this burden of proof for Latino undocumented young adults.