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

自1980-1992年萨尔瓦多内战以来，估计有200万萨尔瓦多人--占萨尔瓦多人口的四分之一--移民到美国。这些移民中有“一代半”的人，他们出生在萨尔瓦多，但在很小的时候就移民到美国。尽管他们一生中的大部分时间都生活在美国，但这一代人中的一些人可能是没有证件的，或者在美国只有临时合法身份。与第一代移民不同，这样的一代半移民对拥有合法公民身份的国家萨尔瓦多可能只有模糊的记忆。与第二代移民不同，这些一代半的年轻人可能生活在最终被驱逐出境的威胁中。因此，这类移民可能会经历他们的法律自我和社会自我之间的严重脱节，如果他们真的被驱逐到萨尔瓦多，这种脱节会加剧。通过考察这种脱节的性质和影响，该项目阐明了公民身份、成员资格和国家概念的含义和差距。合法公民身份可能会唤起强烈的欲望，召唤出特定的关系，并塑造目标和生活轨迹。与此同时，合法的会员资格可能会与个人生活经历的关键方面相矛盾。该项目将采访美国的一代半移民、被驱逐到萨尔瓦多的一代半移民、在美国和萨尔瓦多与这些移民一起工作的个人，以及观察针对这些移民的项目。这些一代半的萨尔瓦多移民的经历是长期移徙没有永久居住权这一更广泛现象的一个例子，因此与派遣国和接受国的政策制定者有关。长期但未经授权或暂时授权的移民的经历也引起了美国政策制定者和萨尔瓦多移民本身的关注。此外，这项研究可能间接地帮助招收代表不足的群体接受高等教育。由于需要西班牙语技能，为该项目雇用的研究助理很可能是代表人数不足的群体的成员。此外，参与该项目将让1.5代移民在他们可能正在决定是否上大学和是否攻读研究生学位的年龄接触到大学研究。

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.