Citizenship and Membership at Odds? Legal Histories of One-and-a-half Generation Salvadoran Immigrants

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Since the 1980-1992 Salvadoran civil war, an estimated 2 million Salvadorans -- one-fourth of the population of El Salvador -- have immigrated to the United States. Among these migrants are members of the "one-and-a-half" generation, individuals who were born in El Salvador but who immigrated to the United States at a young age. Although they have lived the bulk of their lives in the United States, some members of this generation may be undocumented or have only temporary legal status in the United States. Unlike first generation migrants, such one-and-a-half generation migrants may have only dim memories of El Salvador, their country of legal citizenship. Unlike second-generation migrants, these one-and-a-half-generation youth may have lived with the threat of eventual deportation. Such migrants therefore potentially experience profound disjunctures between their legal and social selves, disjunctures that are exacerbated if they are actually deported to El Salvador. By examining the nature and impact of such disjunctures, the project sheds light on meanings of and gaps in notions of citizenship, membership, and the nation. Legal citizenship may evoke powerful desires, conjure up particular relationships, and shape goals and life trajectories. At the same time, legal membership may contradict key facets of individuals' lived experiences. The project will entail interviews with one-and-a-half generation migrants in the U.S., one-and-a-half generation migrants who have been deported to El Salvador, and individuals who work with such migrants in the U.S and in El Salvador, as well as observations of programs for these migrants. The experiences of these one-and-a-half generation Salvadoran migrants are one instance of the broader phenomenon of long-term migration without permanent settlement rights, and are therefore relevant to policy makers in sending and receiving countries. The experiences of long-term but un- or temporarily authorized migrants are also of concern to U.S. policy makers and to Salvadoran migrants themselves. Further, this study may indirectly aid in recruiting underrepresented groups to higher education. Due to the need for Spanish language skills, it is likely that research assistants hired for the project will be members of underrepresented groups. Moreover, participating in the project will expose one-and-a-half generation migrants to university research at an age when they may be deciding whether to attend college and whether to pursue graduate degrees.