Doctoral Dissertation Research: Immigration Law and Civic Embeddedness

SES-1434669辛西娅FelicianoEdelina BurciagaUniversity of加州IrvineThis dissertation research addresses a central topic in American public and intellectual discourse：the immigrant experience. 这项研究专门探讨了无证1.5代的整合经验。 这些移民是在儿童时期来到美国，但没有法律的授权。 目前的估计表明，大约有180万无证件的年轻人生活在美国。 不同于第一代移民作为成年人和第二代谁是移民的孩子，但同样是美国公民，无证的1.5代已开发的价值观，身份，和愿望是由成长的美国人的影响，但也受到生活的实际现实“非法”在美国. 本论文的研究旨在解释无证的1.5代如何管理和谈判这一法律的和社会的悖论。 在没有全面移民改革的情况下，国家法律和政策在塑造移民经验和移民融合方面变得越来越突出。采用直接比较研究设计的拉丁裔无证年轻人（24-34岁）在洛杉矶，加州（一个既定的移民目的地）和亚特兰大，格鲁吉亚（一个新的移民目的地），论文探讨了国家政策环境是否以及如何塑造拉丁裔无证1.5代的纳入途径。 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人相比如何？ 深入访谈和民族志实地考察将被用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（civic embeddedness），和（4）归属感和身份的发展。这是一个关键的问题，以了解正是因为成员的无证1.5-在向成年过渡的过程中，这一代人面临的机会越来越少。 研究假设，这些机会是由限制性或扩张性的国家政策气候深刻塑造的。到目前为止，格鲁吉亚州一直是限制无证移民法律的权利最积极的州之一，而加州则扩大了法律的权利。 这个项目的积极的理论影响是解释这些不同的国家法律和政策环境的影响，无证的1.5代，一组谁的所有意图和目的是“美国”，但他们的法律的地位的社会和经济流动性的机制。 本研究的结果将直接有助于社会学、法学和社会科学领域关于移民融入的研究。通过比较加州和格鲁吉亚这个项目将有助于公众和法律的理解的作用和责任，国家执行和制定移民法，以及这些法律的影响，为社会和经济流动性的无证1.5代。

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.