Immigrant Transnationalism and Modes of Incorporation

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SES-0752644Elizabeth ArandaElena SabogalElizabeth VaqueraUniversity of South FloridaFor decades scholars and policy makers have equated successful immigrant incorporation with assimilation to the dominant white, American middle-class culture. Research on transnational immigrants (those whose patterns of living transcend the boundaries of any one nation) has called into question the use of assimilation theory to describe contemporary immigrant incorporation. Research on the children of immigrants has gone further to suggest that assimilation compromises immigrant psychological and physical health. Using random survey methods, the research studies the modes of incorporation of recent, post-1986, Latin American immigrants in South Florida. The Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR) at Florida International University will conduct a phone survey of a sample of 1200 immigrants. Data will be collected to address the issue of to what extent (if any) immigrant integration has taken on a transnational character, meaning that immigrants both assimilate to some aspects of American culture while continuing to be involved in their home countries. Links between particular modes of integration (e.g. bi-national integration versus other forms of assimilation such as segmented assimilation and selective acculturation) and immigrants' subjective assessment of their well-being will also be examined. Given the increase in the numbers of immigrants coming to the United States and the growing diversity in terms of their social origins, the research will provide important insights into the extent of continued involvement in home societies and whether such involvement, 1) deters or encourages integration to U.S. society; and, 2) if a particular mode of incorporation ameliorates the adverse impact of U.S. struggles documented by previous researchers who have argued that assimilation jeopardizes the health of immigrants. Broader Impacts: The research provides a research experience for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of South Florida and William Paterson University. The data will be integrated into courses to expand students' methodological skills as well as their understandings of immigration as a substantive area of study in Sociology. The data collected from this project will be made available to undergraduate and graduate students at participating universities for use in theses and dissertations. Moreover, the project increases the participation of historically underrepresented groups in research (all three of the researchers are Hispanic/Latina). The study's findings will shed new light on how new immigrants are integrating into established immigrant communities and what particular modes of integration most enhance immigrant subjective well-being. These findings have policy implications, particularly as immigration continues to be a highly contested topic of legislative debate.