West LA Times

In the recent vice presidential debate, Republican candidate Sen. J.D. Vance attributed various issues, such as gun violence in schools, job scarcity, and the lack of affordable housing, to illegal immigration.

Cecilia Menjivar, a UCLA sociologist specializing in immigration law and its impact on immigrants' lives, criticized this perspective. She highlighted the "us vs. them" narrative used by the Republican ticket, which she says echoes autocratic rhetoric by blaming immigrants for national problems, particularly affordable housing shortages.

Menjivar stated, "It’s wild to conceive of immigrants as the reason for the country’s lack of affordable housing when it is immigrant labor that builds homes. The construction sector would come to a halt without immigrant labor. Immigrants build homes; they do not take them from people." She argued that these claims are part of an autocrat's strategy to divide people and create a narrative where only they can provide solutions.

She further noted that vilifying immigrants serves as a distraction from offering real solutions for issues like affordable housing and better-paying jobs. According to Menjivar, those making such claims often lack policy plans to benefit most Americans.

"The irony is that the immigrants who make up the majority of the workforce in the construction sector have minimal chances at homeownership and very limited access to housing assistance programs," Menjivar added.

Menjivar co-authored an introduction in American Behavioral Scientist's recent double issue titled “The Tools of Autocracy Worldwide: Authoritarian Networks, the Façade of Democracy, and Neo-Repression.” In a UCLA Newsroom Q&A on authoritarian tactics in the 2024 presidential campaign, she discussed how autocrats use fear and misinformation while manipulating democratic systems and leveraging hate groups to underscore democracy's fragility.