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The model minority stereotype in Arizona’s anti-immigrant climate: SB 1070 and discordant reactions from Asian Indian migrant organizations

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Abstract

This research explores the discordant reactions of local Asian Indian migrant organizations to the passage of Arizona Senate Bill 1070. The objective is to illustrate how migrants from India to Arizona negotiate their identities in the context of this anti-immigrant climate. The research draws insight largely from local records and publications of Asian Indian migrant organizations, including monthly newsletters, board meeting minutes, and other materials found on organizational websites. The analysis chronicles how various Asian Indian migrant organizations shape public discourse about migrant identity, belonging, and citizenship through their reactions to Arizona Senate Bill 1070. The place-based approach provides a way to re-think traditional migration theories and explore the role of racialization in better understanding the consequences of migration from India to the U.S.

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Notes

  1. One only needs to recall the the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi in Mesa, Arizona and the mass shooting of Paramjit Kaur, Suveg Singh, Satwant Singh, Ranjit Singh, Sita Singh, and Prakash Singh in their Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin (Kang 2012).

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  1. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Emily Skop

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  1. Emily Skop
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Emily Skop declares that she has no conflict of interest. She also followed all procedures in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008. Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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Skop, E. The model minority stereotype in Arizona’s anti-immigrant climate: SB 1070 and discordant reactions from Asian Indian migrant organizations. GeoJournal 82, 553–566 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-016-9704-4

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