Doctoral Dissertation Research: Immigration Law and Civic Embeddedness

SES-1434669Cynthia FelicianoEdelina Burciaga加州大学欧文分校这篇论文研究探讨了美国公共和知识分子话语中的一个中心主题：移民经历。 本研究专门考察了未记录的 1.5 代人的整合经历。 这些移民在儿童时期就来到美国，但未经合法授权仍然居留。 目前的估计表明，大约有 180 万无证年轻人生活在美国。 与作为成年人移民的第一代和同样是移民子女但也是美国公民的第二代不同，无证第 1.5 代已经形成了受美国成长过程影响的价值观、身份和愿望，但也受到在美国“非法”生活的实际现实的影响。 本论文研究旨在解释无证 1.5 代人如何管理和协商这一法律和社会悖论。 在缺乏全面的移民改革的情况下，州法律和政策在塑造移民经历和移民融合方面变得越来越重要。该论文采用对加利福尼亚州洛杉矶（已建立的移民目的地）和佐治亚州亚特兰大（新移民目的地）的拉丁裔无证年轻人（24-34 岁）进行直接比较研究设计，探讨国家政策环境是否以及如何塑造拉丁裔无证 1.5 代的融入路径。 它特别询问了洛杉矶无证年轻人的经历与亚特兰大地区长大的年轻人相比如何？ 将利用深入访谈和民族志实地考察来追踪和比较社会和经济融合的四个关键方面； (1) 教育途径，(2) 参与劳动力市场，(3) 参与公民和行动主义（公民嵌入），以及 (4) 归属感和身份发展。这是一个需要准确理解的关键问题，因为无证 1.5 代成员在过渡到成年时面临的机会越来越少。 研究假设，这些机会在很大程度上受到限制性或扩张性国家政策环境的影响。迄今为止，佐治亚州一直是限制无证移民合法权利最积极的州之一，而加利福尼亚州则扩大了合法权利。 该项目的积极理论影响是解释这些不同的州法律和政策背景影响无证 1.5 代社会和经济流动性的机制，这一群体无论从何种意图和目的来说都是“美国人”，但其法律地位不同。 这项研究的结果将直接有助于之前社会学、法律和社会科学研究领域关于移民融入的研究。通过比较加利福尼亚州和佐治亚州，该项目将有助于公众和法律对各州在执行和颁布移民法方面的作用和责任的理解，以及这些法律对无证 1.5 代社会和经济流动性的影响。

SES-1434669Cynthia FelicianoEdelina BurciagaUniversity of California IrvineThis dissertation research addresses a central topic in American public and intellectual discourse: the immigrant experience. This study specifically examines the integration experiences of the undocumented 1.5-generation. These are immigrants who came to the United States as children and yet remain without legal authorization. Current estimates suggest that approximately 1.8 million undocumented young people live in the United States. Distinct from the 1st generation who immigrated as adults and the 2nd generation who are similarly children of immigrants but are U.S. citizens, the undocumented 1.5-generation have developed values, identities, and aspirations that are influenced by growing up American, but are also impacted by the practical reality of living "illegally" in the United States. This dissertation study seeks to explain how the undocumented 1.5-generation manage and negotiate this legal and social paradox. In the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, state laws and policies have become increasingly salient in shaping the immigrant experience and immigrant integration. Employing a direct comparative research design of Latino undocumented young adults (24-34 years old) in Los Angeles, California (an established immigrant destination) and Atlanta, Georgia (a new immigrant destination), the dissertation examines if and how state policy contexts shape the incorporation pathways of the Latino undocumented 1.5-generation. It specifically asks how the experiences of undocumented young adults in Los Angeles compare to those who grow up in the Atlanta area? In-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork will be used to trace and compare four key aspects of social and economic incorporation; (1) educational pathways, (2) participation in the labor market, (3) participation in civics and activism (civic embeddedness), and (4) sense of belonging and identity development.This is a critical question to understand precisely because members of the undocumented 1.5-generation face narrowing opportunities as they transition to adulthood. The research hypothesizes that these opportunities are profoundly shaped by restrictive or expansive state policy climates. To date, Georgia has been one of the most aggressive states to limit the legal rights of undocumented immigrants while California has expanded legal rights. The positive theoretical impact of this project is to explain the mechanisms by which these divergent state law and policy contexts influence the social and economic mobility of the undocumented 1.5-generation, a group who for all intents and purposes are "American" but for their legal status. The results of this study will directly contribute to previous studies about immigrant incorporation in the field of sociology and law and social science studies. By comparing California and Georgia this project will contribute to public and legal understandings about the role and responsibilities of states to enforce and enact immigration law, and the implications of these laws for the social and economic mobility of the undocumented 1.5-generation.