Political Science Professor Jay McCann announces a new book that invites us to reconsider the response of immigrant communities to the changing political climate in the US since the 2016 elections. The US political climate has seen a surge in anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies. Has this new direction in immigration policy undermined immigrants’ civic engagement and political inclusion goals?
In Holding Fast (Russell Sage Foundation, 2020), Jay McCann addresses this question by drawing from an original nationally representative three-wave panel survey of Latino immigrants conducted before and after the election. He and his coauthor, Michael Jones-Correa (University of Pennsylvania), find that despite the heightened policy threats under the current administration, and the feelings of fear, anger, and disappointment that have been provoked, Latino immigrants – both citizens and noncitizens – remain engaged in American civic life and continue to hold Americans and the U.S. in general in high esteem. Such civic resilience bodes well for the continuing incorporation of immigrants into American democracy.
Bio: James A. (Jay) McCann is a professor in the Department of Political Science. He conducts research and teaches courses on public opinion, election campaigns, representation, and the politics of immigration, and he is the co-coordinator of the Advanced Methods at Purdue (AMAP) initiative in the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Health and Human Sciences. The research for Holding Fast was supported primarily through a grant from the Russell Sage Foundation and a fellowship with the CLA Center for Social Sciences.
