Who Represents the Interests of Undocumented Immigrants? A Study of State Legislators

Abstract

Do elected officials represent those who lack voting rights and political power, specifically undocumented immigrants? While part of a legislator’s geographic constituency, undocumented immigrants provide little electoral benefits and thus are marginalized by most legislators. I present a theory of intersectional linked fate, positing that Latino legislators are responsive to undocumented Latino constituents, even when others are not. To test the theory’s expectations, I conduct the first field experiment and empirical examination of legislator responsiveness to undocumented persons. The results, based on representational choices in 28 U.S. state legislative chambers, indicate that legislators generally respond less to undocumented Latinos than Latino citizens, but that Latino legislators respond similarly to undocumented and citizen Latino constituents. The results also show a surprisingly high level of legislative responsiveness to undocumented immigrants. This study has important theoretical implications for representation, the definition of constituent, and what constitutes the meaning of democratic citizenship.