Book Manuscript: The Political Representation of Non-Citizen Latinos: An Analysis of Legislative Motivations 

My current book manuscript, which is an extension of my doctoral dissertation, examines the political representation of non-citizen Latinos in the U.S. states. Specifically, it investigates why lawmakers, seen as primarily driven by the goal of reelection, would be compelled to vote for or sponsor legislation to favor this non-citizen, non-voting population.

Using newly collected data on bill sponsorship and roll call voting, combined with data collected from an original survey of current state lawmakers and one-on-one interviews, I test a more nuanced version of David Mayhew’s reelection theory (1974). I examine the short-term and long-term reelection goals of lawmakers finding that both current and potential future voting populations in a district (including non-citizens) have significant effects on voting and sponsorship decisions. In addition, I find evidence to suggest that personal characteristics of a lawmaker, most notably ethnic identity, also affect legislative behavior. In line with an alternative “good public policy theory,” my results demonstrate that even when electoral pressures are low, Latino lawmakers remain significantly more likely to support non-citizen interests when compared to all other lawmakers. The broader implication of this finding is that descriptive representation matters and the identity link between Latino legislators and non-citizen Latinos in society encourages behavior that is not fully explained by standard reelection theories.

For chapter drafts, see below:

Introduction: The Representation of Non-Citizen Latinos: Project Overview 

Chapter 2: Assessing Attitudes on Policies Concerning the Non-Citizen Population

Chapter 4: Representing Non-Citizen Latinos: An Assessment of Legislative Voting Behavior

Publications:

“Richard Fenno’s Theory of Congressional Committees and the Partisan Polarization of the House” With John H. Aldrich and David W. Rohde. In Congress Reconsidered, Tenth Edition, ed. Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce L. Oppenheimer.

“House Appropriations After the Republican Revolution.” With John H. Aldrich and David W. Rohde. Congress and the Presidency 39: 229-253, 2012.

Working Papers:

• “For Policy or Politics? Using Interview Data to Assess Non-Citizen Representation in the U.S. States”

• “The Political Representation of Non-Citizens: A Comparative Study of the United States, Germany, and France”

• “Bridging the Gap: How Geographic Context Affects Political Information Flow among Citizen and Non-Citizen Latinos.” With Christopher DeSante. (Revise and Resubmit at American Politics Research)

• “The Determinants of Political Participation for Non-Citizen Latinos.'” With Christopher DeSante. (Currently under review)

• “How Political Geography Moderates the Effect of Citizenship Status on Latino Participation Rates.” With Christopher DeSante.

• “Finding a Focus: Immigration Policy Specialization in the United States Congress” With E. Scott Adler.