9.2c1 The Citizenship Experience of Mexican Americans

Nearly one in four (23%) U.S. immigrants were born in Mexico (Moslimani & Passel, 2024). Moreover, many Mexican Americans trace their ancestry to what was northern Mexico but became U.S. territory due to the Mexican–American War (1846-1848) and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 (see Figure 9.4). Mexican residents of this newly acquired U.S. land could choose to become U.S. citizens. Therefore, while Mexican people make up a large share of U.S. immigrants, they also have a long history of living on the land that is now the United States.

Despite this long history, Latino and Mexican youth still feel culturally excluded. Three recent studies shed light on the meaning of citizenship at the micro level. The first study focused on Latino youth, mostly of Mexican heritage, who hold birthright citizenship (Flores-González, 2017). The second study was of undocumented Mexican youth (Gonzales, 2016). The third study focused on U.S.-born Latinos, Latino immigrants, and U.S.-born White people in Arizona and New Mexico to understand how state-level immigration policies affect everyone’s sense of belonging (Jiménez et al., 2021).

Photo 9.6

Latino Millennials Who Are Legal Citizens May Still Feel Culturally Excluded

Flores-González (2017) interviewed 97 Latino millennials born between 1980 and 1995 who were U.S. citizens by birth and grew up in the United States. About one-fourth were third- or fourth-generation, meaning their parents, grandparents, or both were also born and raised in the United States. They identified as U.S. citizens but felt culturally excluded. Therefore, they did not consider themselves Americans. In short, they had legal citizenship, but the dominant group denied them social citizenship.

Gonzales (2016) interviewed 150 undocumented Mexican youth. All had been brought to the United States before age 12. As children, they had access to public schools just as U.S.-born children do. However, as they became adults, their world shrank due to their undocumented status. Their job prospects and pathways to legalizing their status were limited.

In 2012, while Gonzales was conducting his study, the U.S. government set up the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, allowing undocumented youth to remain in the United States, attend college, and work legally without risk of deportation. DACA addressed the problem Gonzales explored in his research. However, the constitutionality of DACA is being challenged, and the courts are currently reviewing the case. As a result, the Department of Homeland Security can continue accepting DACA applications but cannot process them (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2022). Approximately 800,000 people have received DACA protection (Chishti & Gelatt, 2022). DACA extended social citizenship through access to education and employment. Still, it has not provided a pathway to legal citizenship.

Jiménez and colleagues’ (2021) study examined how state-level immigration policies affect the sense of belonging among U.S.-born White and Latino individuals, and immigrant Latinos, in Arizona and New Mexico. Arizona has more restrictive immigration policies than New Mexico. For example, New Mexico allows undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license, but Arizona does not (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2023). Jiménez et al. (2021) found that welcoming policies extended a sense of belonging to Latinos, who are often the targets of restrictive policies, White  people who are not subject to restrictive policies. Thus, state- and federal-level immigration policies influence feelings of belonging among immigrants and citizens alike at the micro-level.