| Description |
This thesis aims to understand the impact of perceived trust in a Latin American immigrant's home country's government and their willingness to enroll in a federal program in the United States. The U.S. is composed of a diverse population of immigrants. Therefore, understanding if an immigrant's trust in their home country can impact future enrollment in federal programs and help politicians and government officials better convey intention with the information collected. To answer the research question, I used data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), and an auto-ethnography to analyze the relationship. Additionally, I picked five Latin American countries (Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Colombia) for this study. The auto-ethnography includes my experience with DACA as an immigrant from Guatemala. The quantitative data was then analyzed to control if perceived trust in an immigrant's home country's government affects the willingness to enroll in DACA. The research results demonstrate that a few countries did meet the expected trend of having higher trust in government in their home country and a high enrollment percentage in DACA. However, Venezuela did not meet the expectations of my hypothesis. As for my auto-ethnography, my parents' interaction with the Guatemalan government did create hesitations when considering applying for DACA. Therefore, trust does influence future enrollment in federal programs, but there is a need to expand on this research. For future studies incorporating additional federal programs and countries can illuminate if there is a strong relationship. |
