Roger Waldinger University of California, Los Angeles
Immigrants continue to be connected to the countries from which they come, engaging in the large-scale, routine activities of visiting, communication, and remittance sending, as well as the concerted, though less common activities, of home country politics and immigrant philanthropy. While these myriad linkages -- which many scholars call "transnational" -- are a salient aspect of the immigrant phenomenon, there is no single pattern, with connections varying in strength and prevalence across populations. This research studies how immigrants' options to remain connected to their homelands are at once affected by host country responses and also change as a result of the immigrant experience and the encounter with the host country and its institutions. The investigator hypothesizes that many international migrants will engage in cross-border social action of one form or another, that only a relatively small minority maintain regular and recurrent home country ties. On the other hand, many immigrants remain in a protracted state of transition, which is why complete disengagement from all cross-border activities is likely to be relatively uncommon. Moreover, the complex of possible trans-state activities is unlikely to come together in a single, coherent cluster; rather, it is apt to vary, depending on where a migrant stands on the trajectory of political or social incorporation. The types of migrants likely to engage in trans-state social action are also likely to differ from one from one dimension to one another, with the factors influencing cross-state social action yielding positive effects on some dimensions, and negative effects on others. Last, cross-border connectivity and collectivity are likely to shift at an uneven pace, with the latter persisting well after the former has largely fallen away.
Using a number of large-scale, representative surveys of the immigrant population living in the United States, the investigator will analyze the determinants of routine cross-border exchanges and ties; home country political involvement; home v host-country identity and attachment; U.S. political participation; and participation in ethnic organizations and politics. Although only a few of the surveys entail national cross sections of the total immigrant population, they include numerous nationally representative surveys of Latino immigrants and of Mexican immigrants in particular, as well as several large-scale regionally representative surveys of Asians, an obviously important component of the contemporary immigrant population and one whose homeland connections are likely to take a form and be influenced by factors quite different from those found among Latinos. As a collectivity, these data sets are extraordinarily rich, containing detailed information about a broad range of cross-border activities and attachments, as well as U.S.-oriented activities and identities.
Research findings contribute to scholarly and public understandings of immigration and its impact on the United States. While home country ties are a distinguishing feature of the immigrant phenomenon, public and governmental reactions vary greatly. The American public often responds warily, interpreting home country involvement as an indicator of "dual loyalty." Sending governments and international organizations view the matter very differently, seeing these connections as the means by which immigrants in rich countries can transfer resources to their kin living in poor countries. Both public and governmental views are based on limited knowledge of the phenomenon. This research will provide a better understanding of the prevalence of home country ties, their variation across populations, and the relationship between home country connectivity and national identity and attachment.
