Sanctuary Cities: The Politics of Refuge

by Loren Collingwood, Benjamin Gonzalez O'Brien

Overview

The accidental shooting of Kathryn Steinle in July of 2015 by an undocumented immigrant ignited a firestorm of controversy around sanctuary cities, which are municipalities where officials are prohibited from inquiring into the immigration status of residents. Some decline immigration detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While sanctuary cities have been in existence since the 1980s, the Steinle shooting and the presidency of Donald Trump have brought them renewed attention and raised a number of questions. How have these policies evolved since the 1980s and how has the media framed them? Do sanctuary policies "breed crime" as some have argued, or do they help to politically incorporate immigrant populations? What do Americans think about sanctuary cities, and have their attitudes changed in recent years? How are states addressing the conflict between sanctuary cities and the federal government?

In one of the first comprehensive examinations of sanctuary cities, Loren Collingwood and Benjamin Gonzalez O'Brien show that sanctuary policies have no discernible effect on crime rates; rather, anti-sanctuary state laws may undercut communities' trust in law enforcement. Indeed, sanctuary policies do have the potential to better incorporate immigrant populations into the larger city, with both Latino police force representation and Latino voter turnout increasing as a result. Despite this, public opinion on sanctuary cities remains sharply divided and has become intensely partisanized.

Looking at public opinion data, media coverage, and the evolution of sanctuary policies from the 1980s to 2010s, the authors show that conservatives have increasingly drawn on anecdotal evidence to link violent crime to the larger debate about undocumented immigration. This has, in turn, provided them an electoral advantage among conservative voters who often see undocumented immigrants as a threat and has led to a push for anti-sanctuary policies in conservative states that effectively preempt local initiatives aimed at immigrant incorporation. Ultimately, this book finds that sanctuary cities provide important protection for immigrants, helping them to become part of the social and political fabric of the United States, with no empirical support for the negative consequences conservatives and anti-immigrant activists so often claim.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190937027
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/23/2019
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,133,338
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Loren Collingwood is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at University of California, Riverside. He is the author of Campaigning in a Racially Diversifying America: When and How Cross-Racial Electoral Mobilization Works, and more than 23 journal articles. His research and teaching interests include American politics, political behavior, immigration, race and ethnic politics, and political methodology.

Benjamin Gonzalez O'Brien is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at San Diego State University. He is the author of Handcuffs and Chain Link: Criminalizing the Undocumented in America, as well as a number of articles on sanctuary policies, intergroup attitudes, and elections. His main research interests include American politics, immigration policy, racial and ethnic politics, and American political development.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Sanctuary City in Historical Perspective
Chapter 2: Media Coverage of Sanctuary Cities 1980-2017
Chapter 3: Understanding Public Opinion on Sanctuary Cities
Chapter 4: Legislative Expression: Sanctuary Policy-making in the U.S. States
Chapter 5: Sanctuary Cities, Crime, and Incorporation
Chapter 6: Sanctuary Cities: Summary, Concluding Thoughts, The Way Forward
Notes
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Very well organized and presented, this study will be useful to both scholars and policy makers." — C.K. Piehl, emeritus, Minnesota State University, CHOICE

"This is a very important book that takes a holistic approach to examining sanctuary city policy historically and explains the contemporary consequences of reframing this issue for Latino communities today. This book is not just a resource with innovative data and methodology; it provides a powerful historical theoretical explanation for the way elite, media, and mass opinion and behavior change around the issue of sanctuary cities. This book is a must-read for anyone studying public policy and opinion formation." — Jessica Lavariega Monforti, editor of Latinos in the American Political System

"This truly massive deep dive into 35 years of history and data related to sanctuary policies represents a model of good social science. Collingwood and Gonzalez O'Brien aim in these pages to change the national conversation about a controversial and increasingly polarized issue. In a compelling, accessible narrative backed up with hard facts, they succeed in bolstering claims made by pro-sanctuary advocates and dismissing claims made by sanctuary opponents. This book is sure to become a well-cited resource for those seeking to preserve and expand sanctuary policies." — Melissa R. Michelson, Menlo College

"Collingwood and Gonzalez O'Brien's brief yet comprehensive guide to sanctuary cities illustrates how opposition to sanctuary policies is driven by partisanship and demographic change rather than crime or the economy, while also demonstrating that sanctuary policies have a range of positive outcomes. This book will be an indispensable resource for scholars and practitioners interested in this timely, important, and provocative issue." — Deborah J. Schildkraut, Tufts University

From the Publisher