Political Participation by Latino Non-Citizens in the US - Article Example

As the discussion highlights the study’s resultant figure for the Latino non-citizens’ political participation was an insignificant 3.6%. Though this meager figure indicated less participation, the study still was able to present other rooms for interpretation of political behavior. For instance, it was found that Latino non-citizens were “about one and a half times more likely to participate” in local non-political groups and may indicate a perception of non-political activities as “directly relevant and … more fun”.

This paper outlines that political activities and levels of participation were divided into two types: the less demanding activities (i.e., “wearing a button or displaying a sign, signing a petition or  attending a public meeting”); and the more demanding activities (i.e. “volunteering for  a political campaign and donating money”). The trend for both citizen and non-citizen was similar: higher participation rates for less demanding activities and lower participation rates for the more demanding activities.

Though the same trend appeared for both, the citizens still have a significantly, higher participation rate against the non-citizens. The aforementioned figure of 3.6% also opened discussions for the relevance of understanding the variables behind the differences in the level of participation among the Latino non-citizens. The study delved and shed light on this through elaborating how “results show that participation is not random”.. Though the same trend appeared for both, the citizens still have a significantly, higher participation rate against the non-citizens.

The aforementioned figure of 3.6% also opened discussions for the relevance of understanding the variables behind the differences in the level of participation among the Latino non-citizens. The study delved and shed light on this through elaborating how “results show that participation is not random” (Leal, 2002, p. 369). Moreover, active participation lies on at least six of these identified variables: 1) how politically-informed non-citizens were; 2) the perception on the existing differences between political parties; 3) the depth of political interest; 4) possession or lack of “a strong ethnic identity;” likelihood of participation for 5) the younger generation; and 6) those planning to naturalize (Leal, 2002, p. 369). The fact that the younger generation was seen as more likely to participate in political activities seemed to correct a former assumption: “age is seen as a close cousin of education; people are thought to gain more information as they age and therefore, grow more likely to participate” (Leal, 2002, p. 368). The author pointed out that the proliferation by such younger participators among Latino non-citizens maybe due to the increasing anti-immigrant stance adopted by the American politics (Leal, 2002).

In other words, the current political environment created a new breed of political activists among the Latino non-citizens. As long as this political environment persists, high political involvement should be expected from the young ones of the Latino immigrants. Implications Political knowledge.