Do They Stay Connected? A Comparative Analysis of Immigrant Home and Host Country Ties

罗杰·瓦尔丁格加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校移民继续与他们的来源国联系在一起，从事大规模的日常活动，如访问、交流和汇款，以及协调一致的（尽管不太常见的）母国政治和移民慈善活动。虽然这些无数的联系——许多学者称之为“跨国”——是移民现象的一个显著方面，但没有单一的模式，在不同人群中，联系的强度和流行程度各不相同。本研究研究了移民与祖国保持联系的选择如何同时受到东道国反应的影响，并因移民经历和与东道国及其机构的接触而发生变化。研究人员假设，许多国际移民将参与一种或另一种形式的跨境社会活动，只有相对较小的少数人保持定期和经常性的母国联系。另一方面，许多移民仍然处于长期的过渡状态，这就是为什么完全脱离所有跨境活动可能相对不常见的原因。此外，可能的跨州活动的复杂性不太可能集中在一个单一的、连贯的集群中；相反，它很容易发生变化，这取决于移民在政治或社会融合轨迹上所处的位置。可能从事跨州社会行动的移徙者类型也可能因一个方面而异，影响跨州社会行动的因素对某些方面产生积极影响，对其他方面产生消极影响。最后，跨境连通性和集体性可能会以不平衡的速度转变，在前者基本消失后，后者仍会持续很长时间。通过对居住在美国的移民人口进行大量具有代表性的大规模调查，研究者将分析日常跨境交流和联系的决定因素；本国政治参与；母国与东道国的认同与依恋；美国的政治参与；以及参与民族组织和政治活动。虽然只有少数调查涉及移民总人口的全国横截面，但它们包括许多具有全国代表性的拉丁裔移民调查，特别是墨西哥移民调查，以及几项具有区域代表性的亚洲人调查。他们显然是当代移民人口的重要组成部分，他们与祖国的联系可能会采取一种形式，并受到与拉丁美洲人截然不同的因素的影响。作为一个整体，这些数据集非常丰富，包含了广泛的跨境活动和附件的详细信息，以及面向美国的活动和身份。研究结果有助于学术和公众对移民及其对美国的影响的理解。虽然母国关系是移民现象的一个显著特征，但公众和政府的反应却大相径庭。美国公众的反应通常是谨慎的，他们把参与本国事务解读为一种“双重忠诚”的表现。派遣国政府和国际组织对这一问题的看法截然不同，他们认为这些联系是富裕国家的移民将资源转移给生活在贫穷国家的亲属的手段。公众和政府的观点都是基于对这一现象的有限了解。本研究将有助于更好地理解母国联系的普遍性、其在不同人群中的差异，以及母国联系与国家认同和依恋之间的关系。

SES-0751944Roger WaldingerUniversity of California, Los AngelesImmigrants continue to be connected to the countries from which they come, engaging in the large-scale, routine activities of visiting, communication, and remittance sending, as well as the concerted, though less common activities, of home country politics and immigrant philanthropy. While these myriad linkages -- which many scholars call "transnational" -- are a salient aspect of the immigrant phenomenon, there is no single pattern, with connections varying in strength and prevalence across populations. This research studies how immigrants' options to remain connected to their homelands are at once affected by host country responses and also change as a result of the immigrant experience and the encounter with the host country and its institutions. The investigator hypothesizes that many international migrants will engage in cross-border social action of one form or another, that only a relatively small minority maintain regular and recurrent home country ties. On the other hand, many immigrants remain in a protracted state of transition, which is why complete disengagement from all cross-border activities is likely to be relatively uncommon. Moreover, the complex of possible trans-state activities is unlikely to come together in a single, coherent cluster; rather, it is apt to vary, depending on where a migrant stands on the trajectory of political or social incorporation. The types of migrants likely to engage in trans-state social action are also likely to differ from one from one dimension to one another, with the factors influencing cross-state social action yielding positive effects on some dimensions, and negative effects on others. Last, cross-border connectivity and collectivity are likely to shift at an uneven pace, with the latter persisting well after the former has largely fallen away.Using a number of large-scale, representative surveys of the immigrant population living in the United States, the investigator will analyze the determinants of routine cross-border exchanges and ties; home country political involvement; home v host-country identity and attachment; U.S. political participation; and participation in ethnic organizations and politics. Although only a few of the surveys entail national cross sections of the total immigrant population, they include numerous nationally representative surveys of Latino immigrants and of Mexican immigrants in particular, as well as several large-scale regionally representative surveys of Asians, an obviously important component of the contemporary immigrant population and one whose homeland connections are likely to take a form and be influenced by factors quite different from those found among Latinos. As a collectivity, these data sets are extraordinarily rich, containing detailed information about a broad range of cross-border activities and attachments, as well as U.S.-oriented activities and identities. Research findings contribute to scholarly and public understandings of immigration and its impact on the United States. While home country ties are a distinguishing feature of the immigrant phenomenon, public and governmental reactions vary greatly. The American public often responds warily, interpreting home country involvement as an indicator of "dual loyalty." Sending governments and international organizations view the matter very differently, seeing these connections as the means by which immigrants in rich countries can transfer resources to their kin living in poor countries. Both public and governmental views are based on limited knowledge of the phenomenon. This research will provide a better understanding of the prevalence of home country ties, their variation across populations, and the relationship between home country connectivity and national identity and attachment.