Why Did House Members Vote for H.R. 4437?

2006/08/03 by Joel S. Fetzer
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics #Migration and Labor Dynamics

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1747-7379.2006.00041.x

openalex publication_date 2006/08/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

This article examines why members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted for H.R. 4437, the controversial 2005 bill to construct a 700-mile immigration barrier along the U.S.-Mexican border and to criminalize illegal presence and aid to undocumented immigrants. Logit analysis suggests that being a first-term House member or a Republican and representing a district that was in the South or the West or heavily blue-collar substantially boosted the odds of supporting H.R. 4437. If a member's district was disproportionately Asian, Latino, or, especially, African American, he or she was instead more likely to oppose the measure.

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