Description
This study explores immigrant opinions on deportation in an effort to understand behaviors and activities that immigrants consider valid and invalid justifications for deportation and the reasoning behind these opinions. These answers were then used to analyze how these beliefs impact the way they view themselves and others. Twenty-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted with men and women living in the neighborhood of South Philly, Philadelphia over the course of six weeks. Several themes emerged from these interviews, including a range of behaviors and crimes considered by participants to be valid justifications for deportation. These opinions were shown to be influenced by personal beliefs and experiences that also helped them define the way immigrants were expected to behave. Most importantly, the data gathered illustrated the steps undocumented immigrants residing in South Philly take in order to fit the mold of ‘deserving immigrant.’ Examples of these included engaging in self-control and avoiding law enforcement. These findings suggest that local governments could do more to protect the relationship between law enforcement and immigrant communities.
