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Migrant rights: a new social movement? While irregular migrants in the US are mobilising en masse to demand new legislation, Anne McNevin describes how less ambitious campaigns are radically challenging the boundaries of citizenship.

Article Excerpt
A New Social Movement?

In March, April and May of this year, hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants and their supporters demonstrated in dozens of cities across the US. One of the largest public protests since the Vietnam era, demonstrations in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles saw between 500,000 and one million people mobilised in each city. Irregular migrants were loudly asserting an entitlement to legal recognition in direct confrontation with a House of Representatives Bill passed in late 2005 which, among other restrictive measures, would make illegal presence in the country a felony, along with harbouring or assisting any person present illegally.

Protesters chanted: 'Si se puede!' ('Yes, we can!'). They held placards reading: 'We decided not to be invisible anymore' and 'We are not criminals. We are workers and we deserve respect.' These terms of protest radically challenged the frame of reference in which irregular migrants are represented. No longer hiding from authorities, they 'outed' themselves in strategies reminiscent of other identitybased social movements. No longer arguing from a position of little leverage, they emphasised their considerable economic contribution to US society. 'Who will pick your fields and build your houses?' read their signs.

Demonstrators were clear about their intention to play their economic and political influence strategically. On 1 May, when the largest mobilisations took place, a 'Day Without Immigrants' was also called, forcing some major companies to close for a day in the absence of migrant workers. A shopping boycott was also arranged to demonstrate the power of migrants as consumers.

The surging Latino/a vote is also a powerful element of the protesters' political clout. Many citizens of Hispanic descent are sympathetic to their claims and represent the fastest growing group of voters in the electorate. Rallying this vote is a strategy with strong precedents. In 1994, Latino/a activism helped to defeat Proposition 187 in California (a proposal to deny education and other...

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