THE POLITICS OF IDENTITY

To racialize MX immigrants as illegal is dehumanizing. It obscures & simplifies social, political, & economic conditions of immigration

Explosion of Asian immigration due to preference categories Family reunification  community support & increased probability of assimilation Brain Drain  legal Asian workers come in as skilled/professional labor to develop industries Shutting down of Mexican immigration due to universal quotas  Creates problem of “illegal” immigration  racializes Mexican immigrants as criminals  Undocumented immigrants fuel agricultural and service industries, continue legacy of marginalized, racialized, low-skill, cheap labor in developing US economy Model Minority versus Illegal Alien “good” immigrants versus “criminals”

Continues militarization of the border Doubles amount of agents Adds 700 miles of border fence Pathway to citizenship Takes on average 13 years Cannot go into effect until border security is increased Increased surveillance Electronically tracks international exits/entries Employers must use e-verify to identify undocumented Increased # of taxpayers by 10 million Predicted to result in $900 billion in taxes in 10 years Won’t pass without mass movement of immigrants and allies

While Cold War liberals were reforming immigration policies in the 60s & 70s, what political projects were Asian immigrant communities engaging in on the grassroots level?

 Defined by 1968 SFSU/UC Berkeley strikes for ethnic studies  Key characteristics:  Coalitional politics  Broad criticism of multiple vectors of oppression  Recognition of domestic and international connections ▪ Cycle of center & periphery  Primarily college-aged, second generation movement

 Why are you here? What is the goal of education?  1960 California Master Plan (Umemoto 29)  Public Good vs Private Profit  Privatization of the public university  serve the corporation vs “serve the people”

 Hegemony  maintenance of social dominance through force and consent  Subordinate groups can always become hegemonic  cycles of dominance and resistance  Politics  actions taken in response to social structures of power  Situational political mobilization  depending on the specific historical situation, groups will unite with each other to mobilize for political action

 Identity Politics   Your social identity determines your politics  Ex: because you’re black you would automatically vote for Obama  Politics of Identity   The recognition that race is a social construction.  Not all people of color are naturally the same politically.  The choice to work together because of shared social position and experience.  Ex: supporting immigration reform because of recognition of how illegality dehumanizes

 From Oriental to Yellow Power to Third World Front  SFSU strikes as moment to (re)create Asian American identity as act of resistance and coalition in Cold War context  1 st world – developed capitalist nations; US & Western Europe  2 nd world – developed socialist nations; USSR & PRC  3 rd world – newly decolonized, developing/underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa, & Latin America

 Who was Vincent Chin? Why was his life and death pivotal to Helen Zia’s decision to become a political activist in the Asian American community?  According to Glenn Omatsu, who are Asian American neoconservatives and what role did they play in diminishing the Asian American Movement?  “Are the ideas of the movement alive today, or have they atrophied into relics – the curiosities of a bygone era of youthful and excessive idealism?” (Omatsu 57)