Direct Democracy Rules
The Effect of Propositions, Initiatives, and Referendums on State Immigration Legislation in the 21st Century
Andrea Silva(Author)
New York University Press
Will be published approx. on 3. November 2026
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-4798-2268-3 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
55 b/w images
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-4798-2268-3 (9781479822683)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
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.