B U I L D I N G W A L L S :

How Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Permeates Young Latinx Lives

Mary Vickers and Nolan Kline, PhD, MPH, CPH
By echoing President Trump's rhetoric, US-born high school students
have become actors in the administration's biopolitical effort to suppress
immigrant rights. When continually subject to anti-immigrant abuse,
teens from immigrant families exhibit internalized racism, isolation, and
frustration.

B A C K G R O U N D M E T H O D S

President Trump's political career is Activist ethnographic research with two

characterized by anti-immigrant rhetoric community  organizations in Apopka, Florida:
and policies Farmworker Association of Florida
Our previous research shows people are Hope CommUnity Center 
emboldened by Trump to verbally abuse Participant observation, focus groups (n=20),
immigrants/Latinx people semi-structured interviews (n=6) 
Examining impacts of this pervasive Participants high school students or recent
xenophobic rhetoric is crucial graduates from immigrant families

"Mostly white kids [...]

"There’s always racist comments. Like would all be like, 'Oh,
every day, [...] but I really didn’t pay R E S U L T S here comes the wall!'
attention.  [...]  That’s why I don’t socialize And they would say it
with a lot of people, because I don’t like
quotes from participants like joking around and
being in drama. " thinking it was funny.
But it really wasn’t
because [Trump's]
"Like, I’m not welcome [in National
"Marta," 16 Honors Society}. It was just [my four
actually trying, he
wants all immigrants,
Hispanic friends and I] and then
all Mexicans, [...] or
everybody surrounding us. I don’t know, I
anybody who so-called
felt like they just like chose us just to
'doesn’t belong here,' he
make the group diverse, in a sense."
ANALYSIS & wants them all gone.
And we’re so-called the
land of the free, but it’s
not that free."
CONCLUSION "Alejandra," 15
"Carla," 18
Data demonstrate impacts : isolation, internalization, frustration
Compounded by other stressors: undocumented parents, family
separation, low-income, lack of support at school, etc.
Anti-immigrant rhetoric creates a wall between teens from
immigrant families and their native-born peers

Interested and want

MOVING FORWARD more information?
Contact Mary Vickers at
Focus on Latinx youth empowerment through community mvickers@rollins.edu
organizations
Comprehensive reform to protect immigrant rights
Involve youth in pro-immigrant political activism