Direct Democracy Rules - by Andrea Silva (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An essential guide to understanding how citizen lawmaking reshapes state immigration policy

Since 2010, state legislatures have enacted 1,644 statutes and resolutions regarding immigration, averaging about 329 laws each year. Nevertheless, the most controversial bills, the ones we remember and talk about, usually have some involvement with the direct democracy process: initiatives, propositions, and referendums designed by everyday citizens with little to no inside knowledge of politics. From driver's licenses and in-state tuition, to English-only education and access to social services, citizens are fundamentally shaping state immigration policy.

In Direct Democracy Rules, Andrea Silva reveals how the frontlines of U.S. immigration policy have shifted from Congress to the states. While federal authority over immigration is well established, decades of legislative stalemate have created a vacuum that states, and citizens themselves, have rushed to fill. At the heart of Silva's analysis is the powerful role of direct democracy mechanisms in allowing activists, advocacy groups, and political strategists to bypass legislatures entirely, advancing sweeping policies without compromise. In this system, a single vote at the state level can reshape the lives of millions and influence the national conversation on immigration.

Accessible, timely, and rigorously researched, Direct Democracy Rules ultimately frames these citizen-led battles over state policy as the new terrain of twenty-first century immigration politics.

Review Quotes

"Why are U.S. immigration politics such a mess? Andrea Silva's terrific new book helps answer this question, using immigration policy as a vehicle to explore the contours of 'immigration federalism.' She demonstrates that each U.S. state experiences federalism differently, and this is especially true for immigration policy. Direct democracy initiatives in particular allow policy entrepreneurs to experiment with immigration policy in ways that reveal the true muddled character of our political system. Silva shows that the racialized nature of immigration politics makes it particularly attractive for issue entrepreneurs to operate via direct democracy instruments. Silva's novel research demonstrates that there is not one immigration policy in the United States, but fifty-one. The vacuum left by federal immigration legislative failures in the last two decades has been filled by 50 state efforts, creating a patchwork of immigration federalism. This book is a unique exploration of the American political system in the 21st century, using immigration politics as the instrument of discovery."-- "Eric Juenke, co-author of The Presidency and Immigration Policy: Rhetoric and Reality"

About the Author

Andrea Silva is Associate Professor of Teaching in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside and coauthor of The Presidency and Immigration Policy: Rhetoric and Reality.