ILLEGAL ALIENS OUT! : MAKING SOCIOLOGICAL SENSE OF THE NEW RESTRICTIONIST ...

232 Pages·2013·1.81 MB·English

ILLEGAL ALIENS OUT! : MAKING SOCIOLOGICAL SENSE OF THE NEW
RESTRICTIONIST FRAME

by

URY SAUL HERSCH COHN

B.A., San Francisco State University, 1994
M.A., San Jose State University, 1996

AN ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
College of Arts and Sciences

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Manhattan, Kansas
Abstract
In a 2005 op-ed piece, Wall St. Journal columnist Peggy Noonan queried, ―What does it
mean that your first act on entering a country is breaking its laws?‖ Unauthorized noncitizen
populations have increased rapidly, from 3 million in 1990 to over 11 million in 2009. In the
first decade of the twenty-first century, the Minuteman Project and the Tea Party generated
renewed interest in restrictionist social movements (RSMs). Sociological social movement
theories focused primarily on oppressed populations rather than privileged groups, leaving
significant gaps in our understanding of right-wing movements. This dissertation‘s main question
is: how did contemporary restrictionists frame their anti-immigrant principles, practices, and
policies in the post-9/11 period? In turn, what comprise the social and political consequences of
such strategies? This study argues that the ―new‖ restrictionists successfully framed issues
relating to unauthorized noncitizens concerning the cultural, economic, and security risks they
posed to the United States.
Fifty members from a diverse set of voluntary organizations were interviewed, including
the Minuteman Project, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and the American GI
Forum (AGIF). Grounded theory methodology was used to create initial codes, which were then
connected with themes derived from the literature. This study finds that grassroots, right-wing
RSMs brought attention to contentious noncitizen issues that spurred debate and action within
both Democratic and Republicans parties, public discourse, and social policy from after 9/11 to
2012. The success of the 2005 Minuteman Project border patrol demonstrated that the federal
government lacked the political will to control the U.S.–Mexico border. This dissertation adds to
the social movement literature demonstrating that both classical and solidarity theories of social
movements help explain how restrictionists framed unauthorized noncitizen issues. Ultimately,
this study finds RSMs represent a right-wing mobilization (rather than conservative) because of
their singling out of Mexican unauthorized noncitizens, extra-institutional action on the border,
the use of inflammatory rhetoric, and anti-Catholic sentiment, which contributed in pushing the
Republican Party further to the right.
ILLEGAL ALIENS OUT! : MAKING SOCIOLOGICAL SENSE OF THE NEW
RESTRICTIONIST FRAME

by

URY SAUL HERSCH COHN

B.A., San Francisco State University, 1994
M.A., San Jose State University, 1996

A DISSERTATION

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
College of Arts and Sciences

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Manhattan, Kansas

2013

Approved by:

Major Professor
Robert K. Schaeffer
Copyright
URY SAUL HERSCH COHN
2013
Abstract
In a 2005 op-ed piece, Wall St. Journal columnist Peggy Noonan queried, ―What does it
mean that your first act on entering a country is breaking its laws?‖ Unauthorized noncitizen
populations have increased rapidly, from 3 million in 1990 to over 11 million in 2009. In the first
decade of the twenty-first century, the Minuteman Project and the Tea Party generated renewed
interest in restrictionist social movements (RSMs). Sociological social movement theories
focused primarily on oppressed populations rather than privileged groups, leaving significant
gaps in our understanding of right-wing movements. This dissertation‘s main question is: how
did contemporary restrictionists frame their anti-immigrant principles, practices, and policies in
the post-9/11 period? In turn, what comprise the social and political consequences of such
strategies? This study argues that the ―new‖ restrictionists successfully framed issues relating to
unauthorized noncitizens concerning the cultural, economic, and security risks they posed to the
United States.
Fifty members from a diverse set of voluntary organizations were interviewed, including
the Minuteman Project, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and the American GI
Forum (AGIF). Grounded theory methodology was used to create initial codes, which were then
connected with themes derived from the literature. This study finds that grassroots, right-wing
RSMs brought attention to contentious noncitizen issues that spurred debate and action within
both Democratic and Republicans parties, public discourse, and social policy from after 9/11 to
2012. The success of the 2005 Minuteman Project border patrol demonstrated that the federal
government lacked the political will to control the U.S.–Mexico border. This dissertation adds to
the social movement literature demonstrating that both classical and solidarity theories of social
movements help explain how restrictionists framed unauthorized noncitizen issues. Ultimately,
this study finds RSMs represent a right-wing mobilization (rather than conservative) because of
their singling out of Mexican unauthorized noncitizens, extra-institutional action on the border,
the use of inflammatory rhetoric, and anti-Catholic sentiment, which contributed in pushing the
Republican Party further to the right.
Table of Contents
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. x
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... xii
Dedication .................................................................................................................................... xiv
Chapter 1 - Overview ...................................................................................................................... 1
Purpose of Study and Research Questions ................................................................................. 5
Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 7
Contributions to Sociological Theory ..................................................................................... 9
Organization of Dissertation ................................................................................................. 10
Chapter 2 - The Historical Context of Anti-Illegal Sentiment ...................................................... 14
The Social Construction of Illegality ........................................................................................ 15
Post-World War II Immigration Developments: The Gate Opens a Little ........................... 18
The Latent Effects of the 1965 Immigration Act .............................................................. 19
The Long 1990s ................................................................................................................ 21
Chapter 3 - Theories of Collective Action in the Context of Right-Wing Movements: An
Overview and Critique ........................................................................................................... 26
Classical Models of Social Movements .................................................................................... 26
Criticisms of the Classical Model of Social Movement ....................................................... 32
The Cultural Context of Framing ...................................................................................... 35
The Diversity of the Right ........................................................................................................ 37
Defining Rightists ................................................................................................................. 38
Culture Wars ............................................................................................................................. 46
―Losing Our Unique American Identity‖ .......................................................................... 49
―An American Host with Foreign Parasites‖ .................................................................... 53
Restrictionists Get an Invitation to the Tea Party ................................................................. 56
Similarities and Differences Between Restrictionists and Tea Partiers ................................ 57
Chapter 4 - The DAR: Membership Has Its Privileges (and its Burdens) .................................... 62
DAR as an Organization ........................................................................................................... 63
Organizational Structure of DAR ......................................................................................... 65
vi
Resolutions Process: Inner Machinations of an Exclusive Organization ............................. 67
―Transforming the Foreign‖ .................................................................................................. 69
The DAR in the 1950s: Continued Support of Immigration Restriction .......................... 72
Making Americans of Poor Whites ....................................................................................... 75
Marianne Anderson: And Justice for Some .......................................................................... 77
The DAR Respond to 9/11 .................................................................................................... 79
Chapter 5 - Method of Inquiry ...................................................................................................... 83
Overview of Research Design .................................................................................................. 83
Selection of Research Participants ........................................................................................ 84
Overview of Information Needed ......................................................................................... 85
Methods For Data Analysis and Synthesis ............................................................................... 86
Data Analysis and Synthesis ................................................................................................. 87
Steps to Data Analysis and Synthesis ............................................................................... 88
Back to the Literature ............................................................................................................ 96
Theoretical Concepts: Agents of Threat and Identities of Privilege ................................ 96
Agents of Threat ............................................................................................................... 96
Identities of Privilege ........................................................................................................ 97
Creditability of Research, Limitations, and Ethical Considerations ................................. 98
Getting Restrictionists on the Record ............................................................................... 99
Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 102
Summary ................................................................................................................................. 104
Chapter 6 - Findings.................................................................................................................... 106
Lou Dobbs: Right-Wing Media Cheerleader .......................................................................... 106
Identities of Privilege and Agents of Threat: Guest Worker Programs ............................. 108
The Case of Sanctuary Cities .............................................................................................. 113
Social Policy and Denying Federal Funding to Sanctuary Cities ................................... 116
Constructing Villains in the Sanctuary City Debate ....................................................... 117
The Dream Act: Rewarding Illegal Behavior ..................................................................... 119
Agents of Threat: 9/11 and its Aftermath ........................................................................... 122
Agents of Threat: The Conspiracy of Open Border and Ethnocentric Activists ................ 126
Ethnocentric Groups: Putting Ethnicity before Citizenship ............................................... 130
vii
Summary ................................................................................................................................. 131
Meeting the Monster: Coming Face-to-Face With Restrictionists ......................................... 132
Agent of Threat: Changing American Way of Life ............................................................ 137
Agent of Threat: Practicing Rule of Law ............................................................................ 143
Agent of Threat: Holding Feds‘ Feet to the Fire ................................................................. 148
Agent of Threat: ReConquista: Wanting to Take Over ...................................................... 149
Annie Get Your Gun: ―Minutewomen‖ and Border Watches ........................................... 151
Restrictionist Social Movements: Identities of Privilege .................................................... 152
Dropping the Hyphen ...................................................................................................... 152
Summary ................................................................................................................................. 155
DAR Interview Data ............................................................................................................... 156
Preserving Traditional Values ............................................................................................. 158
Agent of Threat: Holding Feds‘ Feet to the Fire ................................................................ 161
Identities of Privilege .............................................................................................................. 164
Dropping the Hyphen .......................................................................................................... 164
DAR Members React to Reconquista ............................................................................. 167
Summary ................................................................................................................................. 168
Chapter 7 - Making Sociological Sense of Border Patriots ........................................................ 169
Restrictionist Social Movements as Political Theater ............................................................ 171
Border Patriots: Americans as Collective Victims ............................................................. 175
Making Sociological Sense of DAR ....................................................................................... 180
DARs ―Little Green Book‖ and the White Washing of History ......................................... 181
DAR: Hard Core Feminists Need Not Apply ................................................................. 184
Chapter 8 - Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 186
DAR and White Racial Frames .............................................................................................. 186
Removing Race from the Anti-immigrant Agenda ............................................................. 188
Immigrants as Freeloaders .................................................................................................. 190
Immigrants Refusal to Assimilate ....................................................................................... 191
9/11 and Security Threats ................................................................................................... 192
Problems With Restrictionist Frames ..................................................................................... 194
Politics, the Hispanic Vote, and Immigration Reform ............................................................ 196
viii
References ................................................................................................................................... 200
Appendix A - Interview Schedule and Consent Form ................................................................ 206
Appendix B - Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................ 212
Appendix C - DAR Membership by States................................................................................. 214

ix
List of Figures
Figure 5.1 Code Document Example Using Word ....................................................................... 90
Figure 5.2 Alphabetized Table of Codes Using Words Table of Authorities feature ................... 91
Figure 5.3 Qualitative Research Control Panel (QRCP) Using MS Access ................................. 92
Figure 5.4 Level 2 and Level 1 Codes Using MS Access Reports ............................................... 94
Figure 5.5 Total Number of Level 3, 2, and 1 Codes Discovered in Study .................................. 95
Figure 5.6 Illustrates one-to-many relationship using MS Access‘s query function .................... 96
Figure 6.1 Lou Dobbs Context Variables (2005-2008) .............................................................. 107
Figure 6.2 Restrictionist: Significant Level 3 and Level 2 Codes .............................................. 137
Figure 6.3 Minuteman Project volunteers Raymond Herrera (third from left) and Robin Hvidston
(waving U.S. flag) protesting in front of member of Congress Jerry Lewis‘s office ......... 140
Figure 6.4 DAR: Significant Level 3 and Level 2 Codes .......................................................... 159
Figure 7.1 Minuteman Project Media Exposure ......................................................................... 173
Figure 8.1 Robin Hvidston and other restrictionists protesting outside of a church................... 196

x