Legal Status, Civic Organizations, and Political Participation among Latino Young Adults

ABSTRACT

This investigation examines the roles of legal status and civic associations in shaping political participation. Analyses of survey and semistructured interview data collected from Latino young adults indicate that the effects of legal status are conditional on the context of involvement. Furthermore, findings suggest that membership in certain types of civic organizations during both adolescence and early adulthood cumulatively shape patterns of political participation. This study has implications for understanding the roles of legal status and formative civic experience in determining the leadership capacities of undocumented immigrants and others from marginalized communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Children and youth
• immigration
• Latino/a sociology
• political sociology

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to Abdiel Lopez, Angel Ross, Imelda Plascencia, and Claudia Rodriguez for their research assistance, and to Jesse Lichtenstein and Nicole White for reviewing drafts of this article.

Funding

This work has been supported by the Spencer Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Atlantic Philanthropies.

Notes

1. The response rates for the cell phone and landline samples were 56.1 percent and 58.5 percent, respectively.

2. Unfortunately, I cannot calculate a response rate due to lack of data about population estimates.

Additional information

Funding

This work has been supported by the Spencer Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Atlantic Philanthropies.

Notes on contributors

Veronica Terriquez

Veronica Terriquez is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California Santa Cruz.