La Lucha de Cada Dia: Immigrant Justice Organizing and the Political Remaking of Illegality in the U.S.
Date of Award
Spring 2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Wood, Elisabeth
Abstract
How do undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, incarcerated migrants, and other criminalized noncitizens successfully advocate for civil rights amid social exclusion and political repression in the United States? My dissertation research analyzes immigrant-led community organizing, exploring the strategies employed by these communities to advance welcoming social policies, create long-lasting political infrastructures, and even organize inside detention centers. Based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork, I argue that effective immigrant organizing springs from engagement with the quotidian violence experienced by immigrant communities due to their legal status. Small-scale campaigns around issues such as wage theft, police brutality, and deportation proceedings motivate otherwise acquiescent immigrant communities to mobilize politically. If complemented with strategic organizing leadership and a combination of insider and outsider resources, this work can scale up into policy campaigns to politically transform immigrant illegality, make everyday life less precarious, effectively shape public policies, and incorporate immigrants into civic life. “La Lucha de Cada Día” is a chronicle of American political institutions, democratic life, and collective defiance told from the perspective of immigrants claiming a place in a nation that has sought to exclude them.
Recommended Citation
Garibaldo Valdez, Ramon, "La Lucha de Cada Dia: Immigrant Justice Organizing and the Political Remaking of Illegality in the U.S." (2023). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 907.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/907
