The large-scale protests over immigrants’ rights in 2006 shifted how Latinos view the U.S. political system and their own abilities to influence government outcomes

With the rise of often national-scale collective actions, such as the Occupy movement, understanding how these actions shape political attitudes is becoming more and more important. Using an in-depth study of the 2006 wave of Latino protests over anti-immigration legislation, Michael Jones-Correa, Sophia J. Wallace and Chris Zepeda-Millán argue that these protests contributed to important shifts in Latino public opinion. Importantly, they also find that being in close proximity to small marches has a positive impact on feelings of political effectiveness, while being closer to larger protests increases people’s sense of political alienation.