Battling to Secure America's Borders: Understanding Micromobilization in the Contemporary U.S. Anti-Immigration Movement

Abstract

This dissertation casts a wide net in order to explain the recent emergence and proliferation of the contemporary anti-immigration movement in the United States. Anti-immigration activism is an understudied but not entirely overlooked phenomenon. Yet, we know incredibly little about an important set of macro- and micro- questions related to contemporary anti-immigration activism. This dissertation addresses big-picture mobilization questions, such as: What large-scale, historical preconditions set the stage for the emergence and proliferation of contemporary anti-immigration activism in the United States? And how--and through what general processes--has pro-migrant countermobilization influenced the anti-immigration movement and, perhaps, unintentionally spurred its growth? Finally, I address micro-level questions focused around the mechanics of micromobilization: How and why do individuals support anti-immigration activism? How and why do individuals become motivated to engage in anti-immigration activity? and How and why do individuals ultimately participate in anti-immigration-related activism? In sum, both big-picture and small-scale questions anchor this dissertation. By answering these I not only shed light on this specific case but also make a number of more general contributions to social movement literature.