Abstract: I asked Patty, who also identified herself as an “AB 540” student when requesting the affidavit, if she had any fears in the process: No, no, I wasn’t really scared because everything that we did made me feel confident… like there’s nothing to fear. This is not illegal, this is legal. You know you can go ahead and do it, and they know about it, so they shouldn’t be surprised about me being undocumented. So I felt really comfortable and really confident about it. This subject’s response powerfully draws out the point that beyond the instrumental effects of AB 540, the law has also granted undocumented students a new sense of legitimacy. As students they can “legally” and therefore legitimately request rights formally granted by the law. The legitimacy attached to their status and actions as students allows them to feel comfortable and confident when claiming their new rights. These more positive feelings stand in stark contrast to the stigma they all felt prior to the law. The unintended effect of AB 540 to procure a more disguising and socially-acceptable label lends itself to greater success for the intended instrumental effects of the law. I argue that the neutral label disguises subjects’ marginal status and therefore sets up a more accepting environment in which to claim their rights. Unlike the potential beneficiaries of Civil Rights and other rights-granting laws who are perceived as victims when they invoke the law (Bumiller 1988; Engel and Unger 1996; Nielsen 2000), undocumented students are able to further hide their marginalized status with a label that is neutral and socially unrecognizable. When invoking the “American Disabilities Act,” or calling for protection against “sexual harassment,” or other legally-defined discriminatory actions, subjects are directly identifying as members of marginalized groups. On the other hand, undocumented students can disassociate themselves with negative labels and instead identify as ‘AB 540 students,’ thereby concealing their status and preventing further judgment.

Abrego Effects of AB540 LSI