Latino Immigrant Home-Country Media Use and Participation in U.S. Politics

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which Latino immigrants’ use of news media from their home countries influences their likelihood of participating in politics in the United States. Using data from the 2015 Latino National Health and Immigration Survey of 1,005 Latino adults in the United States, I run a set of multivariate analyses to determine whether home-country media use affects the likelihood that Latino immigrants, 52% of whom use home-country media at least a few times per week, will vote, participate in political protests, attend meetings, sign a petition, or make a donation to political causes. I find that home-country media use has a significant, independent effect on the likelihood of protesting and signing petitions. This article bridges our understanding of media effects on participation for Latino immigrants and the importance of transnational political behavior to civic participation and incorporation of immigrants in the United States.