CONSTRUCTING MEXICAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN AS A THREAT TO AMERICAN FAMILIES
Mexican immigrant mothers and their children are under attack by anti immigration discourse that draws heavily from Homeland Security rhetoric and immigration law enforcement This study examines an anti immigration group, Mothers Against Illegal Aliens (MALA) that positions itself from the standpoint of mothers who are U.S. citizens. State and federal legislation and immigration law enforcement provide the foundation for MAIA's anti immigrant discourse against Mexican immigrant women by drawing from racially coded language and depictions by incorporating Homeland Security discourse and law enforcement practices. Four major themes used to construct unauthorized Mexican immigrant mothers as unfit are: the inability to raise loyal U.S. citizens; reproduction is used as an opportunistic strategy to gain benefits; the U.S. born children of Mexican immigrant receiving benefits has negative impacts on the children of mothers who are U.S. citizens; and the U.S. born children of these mothers threaten the political dominance of white citizens.