Leo Chavez | University of California, Irvine (original) (raw)

Books by Leo Chavez

This paper explores interview data collected on undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central A... more This paper explores interview data collected on undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America during the summer of 1986 in San Diego, California and Dallas, Texas. Its purpose is to examine a principal underlying assumption of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, that undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for the legalization program will return to their country of origin; and to indicate problems created by the legislation which may require further legislation. The data examined indicate that the distinction between a migrant and a settler is not easily drawn. The January 1, 1982 cutoff date for the legalization program does not correspond to residence intentions or concerns found among the Mexican and Central American interviewees. It is questionable whether the interviewees' decisions about returning to their countries of origin will be affected by their lack of participation (either willingly or by exclusion) in the legalization program.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact

Social Science & Medicine, 2019

We examined the effect of political rhetoric on the targets of that rhetoric. Drawing from schola... more We examined the effect of political rhetoric on the targets of that rhetoric. Drawing from scholarship on anti-
Mexican and anti-immigrant rhetoric found readily in various media and scholarship on emotions, we tested four
hypotheses. Hypotheses 1 and 2 predicted that positive and negative political rhetoric would increase and decrease
positive and negative emotions, respectively. Hypotheses 3 and 4 then predicted that emotional responses
to positive or negative political rhetoric would influence perceived stress, subjective health, and subjective wellbeing.
Data collection occurred between August 2016 and June 2017 at a university in California. A sample of
280 Mexican-origin youth, defined broadly as having at least one ancestor born in Mexico or the participant
themselves born in Mexico, participated in an experiment where they were randomly assigned to one of three
study conditions: viewing (1) positive or (2) negative political rhetoric about immigrants and Latinos in general,
or (3) neutral rhetoric as a control condition before providing qualitative responses to open-ended questions and
completing measures of positive and negative affect, perceived stress, subjective health, and subjective wellbeing.
Qualitative responses indicated that negative and positive political rhetoric elicited a range of negative
emotions and positive emotions, respectively. Quantitative analysis with independent samples t-tests, ANOVA,
and linear regression models found that negative political rhetoric elicited higher negative affect than positive
and neutral rhetoric, and positive rhetoric elicited higher positive affect than negative and neutral rhetoric.
Negative emotional responses, in turn, were associated with participants’ higher perceived stress, lower subjective
health and lower subjective well-being. Conversely, positive emotional responses were associated with
lower perceived stress, higher subjective health, and higher subjective well-being. Positive political rhetoric, by
eliciting positive emotions, can have a salubrious effect. Altogether, these findings suggest that political rhetoric
matters for the targets of that rhetoric.

Social Science & Medicine, 2019

Birthright citizenship has a deep and contentious history in the United States, one often hard to... more Birthright citizenship has a deep and contentious history in the United States, one often hard to square in a country that prides itself on being "a nation of immigrants." Even as the question of citizenship for children of immigrants was seemingly settled by the Fourteenth Amendment, vitriolic debate has continued for well over a century, especially in relation to U.S. race relations. Most recently, a provocative and decidedly more offensive term than birthright citizenship has emerged: "anchor babies."

With this book, Leo R. Chavez explores the question of birthright citizenship, and of citizenship in the United States writ broadly, as he counters the often hyperbolic claims surrounding these so-called anchor babies. Chavez considers how the term is used as a political dog whistle, how changes in the legal definition of citizenship have affected the children of immigrants over time, and, ultimately, how U.S.-born citizens still experience trauma if they live in families with undocumented immigrants. By examining this pejorative term in its political, historical, and social contexts, Chavez calls upon us to exorcise it from public discourse and work toward building a more inclusive nation.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Papers by Leo Chavez

Resentment in anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political rhetoric often focuses on perceived demogr... more Resentment in anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political rhetoric often focuses on perceived demographic changes, white population decline, and economic decline. Resentimiento, by contrast, connotes disgust and anger at mistreatment through hostile words or acts such as those conveyed in negative political rhetoric. To explore the nature of resentimiento, Mexican-origin students at a California university were shown samples of negative (N = 95) or positive (N = 93) statements and visual images about immigrants and Latinos. Their written responses to the negative rhetoric included anger and sadness, feelings of being stigmatized, and bodily reactions. Participants argued that the negative rhetoric suffered from overgeneralizations, racism, and misinformation, and that it failed acknowledge why people migrate, the valiant struggles of families to secure a better life, and the contributions of Latinos and immigrants to US society. The students recast the negative rhetoric as a flawed and inadequate source of repre-sentation and knowledge about them, their families, and their communities. They denied the rhetoric’s epistemological efficacy while at the same time recognizing the emotional toll of being its target.

Under assumptions of about 1 million immigrants per year with current composition, over the long ... more Under assumptions of about 1 million immigrants per year with current composition, over the long term the percentage of the population who are white (non-Hispanic) would decline from about 80% in 1980 to about 50% in 2080

Immigration and the Law: From Conquest to the War on Terrorism, 2018

Human Organization, 1990

... Both areas also attract undocumented im-migrants. Dr. Chavez coordinated the interviews in th... more ... Both areas also attract undocumented im-migrants. Dr. Chavez coordinated the interviews in the San Diego area. Dr. Flores, with the assistance of Dr. Lopez-Garza, coordinated the interviews in the Dallas area. Interviews were conducted between June and September 1986. ...

Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2015

This paper explores interview data collected on undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central A... more This paper explores interview data collected on undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America during the summer of 1986 in San Diego, California and Dallas, Texas. Its purpose is to examine a principal underlying assumption of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, that undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for the legalization program will return to their country of origin; and to indicate problems created by the legislation which may require further legislation. The data examined indicate that the distinction between a migrant and a settler is not easily drawn. The January 1, 1982 cutoff date for the legalization program does not correspond to residence intentions or concerns found among the Mexican and Central American interviewees. It is questionable whether the interviewees' decisions about returning to their countries of origin will be affected by their lack of participation (either willingly or by exclusion) in the legalization program.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact

Social Science & Medicine, 2019

We examined the effect of political rhetoric on the targets of that rhetoric. Drawing from schola... more We examined the effect of political rhetoric on the targets of that rhetoric. Drawing from scholarship on anti-
Mexican and anti-immigrant rhetoric found readily in various media and scholarship on emotions, we tested four
hypotheses. Hypotheses 1 and 2 predicted that positive and negative political rhetoric would increase and decrease
positive and negative emotions, respectively. Hypotheses 3 and 4 then predicted that emotional responses
to positive or negative political rhetoric would influence perceived stress, subjective health, and subjective wellbeing.
Data collection occurred between August 2016 and June 2017 at a university in California. A sample of
280 Mexican-origin youth, defined broadly as having at least one ancestor born in Mexico or the participant
themselves born in Mexico, participated in an experiment where they were randomly assigned to one of three
study conditions: viewing (1) positive or (2) negative political rhetoric about immigrants and Latinos in general,
or (3) neutral rhetoric as a control condition before providing qualitative responses to open-ended questions and
completing measures of positive and negative affect, perceived stress, subjective health, and subjective wellbeing.
Qualitative responses indicated that negative and positive political rhetoric elicited a range of negative
emotions and positive emotions, respectively. Quantitative analysis with independent samples t-tests, ANOVA,
and linear regression models found that negative political rhetoric elicited higher negative affect than positive
and neutral rhetoric, and positive rhetoric elicited higher positive affect than negative and neutral rhetoric.
Negative emotional responses, in turn, were associated with participants’ higher perceived stress, lower subjective
health and lower subjective well-being. Conversely, positive emotional responses were associated with
lower perceived stress, higher subjective health, and higher subjective well-being. Positive political rhetoric, by
eliciting positive emotions, can have a salubrious effect. Altogether, these findings suggest that political rhetoric
matters for the targets of that rhetoric.

Social Science & Medicine, 2019

Birthright citizenship has a deep and contentious history in the United States, one often hard to... more Birthright citizenship has a deep and contentious history in the United States, one often hard to square in a country that prides itself on being "a nation of immigrants." Even as the question of citizenship for children of immigrants was seemingly settled by the Fourteenth Amendment, vitriolic debate has continued for well over a century, especially in relation to U.S. race relations. Most recently, a provocative and decidedly more offensive term than birthright citizenship has emerged: "anchor babies."

With this book, Leo R. Chavez explores the question of birthright citizenship, and of citizenship in the United States writ broadly, as he counters the often hyperbolic claims surrounding these so-called anchor babies. Chavez considers how the term is used as a political dog whistle, how changes in the legal definition of citizenship have affected the children of immigrants over time, and, ultimately, how U.S.-born citizens still experience trauma if they live in families with undocumented immigrants. By examining this pejorative term in its political, historical, and social contexts, Chavez calls upon us to exorcise it from public discourse and work toward building a more inclusive nation.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Resentment in anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political rhetoric often focuses on perceived demogr... more Resentment in anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political rhetoric often focuses on perceived demographic changes, white population decline, and economic decline. Resentimiento, by contrast, connotes disgust and anger at mistreatment through hostile words or acts such as those conveyed in negative political rhetoric. To explore the nature of resentimiento, Mexican-origin students at a California university were shown samples of negative (N = 95) or positive (N = 93) statements and visual images about immigrants and Latinos. Their written responses to the negative rhetoric included anger and sadness, feelings of being stigmatized, and bodily reactions. Participants argued that the negative rhetoric suffered from overgeneralizations, racism, and misinformation, and that it failed acknowledge why people migrate, the valiant struggles of families to secure a better life, and the contributions of Latinos and immigrants to US society. The students recast the negative rhetoric as a flawed and inadequate source of repre-sentation and knowledge about them, their families, and their communities. They denied the rhetoric’s epistemological efficacy while at the same time recognizing the emotional toll of being its target.

Under assumptions of about 1 million immigrants per year with current composition, over the long ... more Under assumptions of about 1 million immigrants per year with current composition, over the long term the percentage of the population who are white (non-Hispanic) would decline from about 80% in 1980 to about 50% in 2080

Immigration and the Law: From Conquest to the War on Terrorism, 2018

Human Organization, 1990

... Both areas also attract undocumented im-migrants. Dr. Chavez coordinated the interviews in th... more ... Both areas also attract undocumented im-migrants. Dr. Chavez coordinated the interviews in the San Diego area. Dr. Flores, with the assistance of Dr. Lopez-Garza, coordinated the interviews in the Dallas area. Interviews were conducted between June and September 1986. ...

Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2015

The Political Anthropology of Ecuador. Perspectives …, 1985

Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems …, 1990

Page 1. Introduction: Immigrants In US Cities Leo R. Chavez Department of Anthropology University... more Page 1. Introduction: Immigrants In US Cities Leo R. Chavez Department of Anthropology University of California, Irvine Throughout the decade of the 1980s, the United States annually received 500,000 to 700,000 legal immigrants ...

In confronting cancer: Metaphors, advocacy, and …, 2008

Current Anthropology, 2012

American arrivals: anthropology …, 2003

International Migration Review, 2001

Urban Anthropology, 1990

... Immigrants. Source: Urban Anthropology, v19 n1-2 p31-61 Spr-Sum 1990. More Info: Help Peer-Re... more ... Immigrants. Source: Urban Anthropology, v19 n1-2 p31-61 Spr-Sum 1990. More Info: Help Peer-Reviewed: N/A. Publisher: N/A. Publication Date: 1990-00-00. Pages: N/A. Pub Types: Journal Articles; Reports - Research. Abstract ...

Social Science & Medicine, 2019

Aztlan, 2021

Resentment in anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political rhetoric often focuses on perceive... more Resentment in anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political rhetoric often focuses on perceived demographic changes, white population decline, and economic decline. Resentimiento, by contrast, connotes disgust and anger at mistreatment through hostile words or acts such as those conveyed in negative political rhetoric. To explore the nature of resentimiento, Mexican-origin students at a California university were shown samples of negative (N = 95) or positive (N = 93) statements and visual images about immigrants and Latinos. Their written responses to the negative rhetoric included anger and sadness, feelings of being stigmatized, and bodily reactions. Participants argued that the negative rhetoric suffered from overgeneralizations, racism, and misinformation, and that it failed acknowledge why people migrate, the valiant struggles of families to secure a better life, and the contributions of Latinos and immigrants to US society. The students recast the negative rhetoric as a flawed and inadequate source of repre-sentation and knowledge about them, their families, and their communities. They denied the rhetoric’s epistemological efficacy while at the same time recognizing the emotional toll of being its target.

We thank all the reviewers for their expertise, insight and dedication in providing high quality ... more We thank all the reviewers for their expertise, insight and dedication in providing high quality reviews for article submissions to JEMS over the last year. The editorial team is frequently taken aback by the extremely high quality of critique provided by reviewers. Many authors also express their gratitude for this engagement and claim with justification that it has helped to advance their research. Once again many thanks, the quality of the journal is underpinned by your continued support.