Doctoral Dissertation Research: Theorizing the Sociolegal Incorporation of First Generation Immigrants and their Adult Children

这个项目研究移民的孩子如何帮助他们的父母在美国的社会和法律的机构中导航。一系列研究表明，移民子女是父母的语言和文化经纪人。因此，青年可以协助父母翻译文件、寻找就业机会、学习新的规范和获得住房。然而，对移民身份在年轻人与其父母之间的中介过程中所起的作用的关注有限。该项目旨在解决三个相互关联的问题：移民的第一代半和第二代子女（18岁以上）如何从事经纪活动？中介过程中的差异如何塑造第一代移民父母及其1.5代和第二代子女的社会法律融合？移民身份和性别对社会法律结果有何影响？这项工作将有重要的影响，学者，教育工作者和政策制定者有兴趣了解的方式，其中法律的地位复杂的移民家庭的融合。考虑到美国有大量无证和混合身份的家庭，这是特别及时的。调查结果还将揭示这些家庭试图融入核心社会机构时产生的积极和消极后果。为了解决研究问题，将进行深入访谈与拉丁美洲/移民家庭谁在不同的保护和不受保护的移民身份（无证的年轻人与无证的父母，公民年轻人与无证的父母，和公民年轻人与父母永久移民身份）。生活史访谈将探讨移民身份如何塑造父母及其成年子女之间的中介和独特的融合过程。为此，探索移民身份对这一过程的影响将揭示移民的子女如何不仅经纪人的信息，但也是独特的定位，以方便访问重要的社会，法律的，和经济institutions.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

This project examines how children of immigrants help their parents navigate social and legal institutions in the US. A long line of research demonstrates that children of immigrants serve as language and cultural brokers for their parents. As such, youth can assist their parents by translating documents, finding employment, learning new norms, and securing housing. However, limited attention has been dedicated to the role immigration status plays in the brokering process between young adults and their parents. This project aims to address three inter-related questions: How do adult 1.5 and 2nd generation children (age 18+) of immigrants engage in brokering? How do differences in the brokering process shape the sociolegal integration of 1st generation immigrant parents and their 1.5 and 2nd generation children? How do sociolegal outcomes differ by immigration status and gender? This work will have important implications for scholars, educators, and policy makers interested in understanding the ways in which legal status complicates the integration of immigrant families. This is particularly timely given the large-scale number of undocumented and mixed status families in the US. Findings will also reveal the positive and negative consequences that arise when these families attempt to integrate into core societal institutions. To address the research questions, in-depth interviews will be conducted with Latino/a immigrant families who vary across protected and unprotected immigration statues (undocumented young adults with undocumented parents, citizen young adults with undocumented parents, and citizen young adults with parents with permanent immigration status). Life history interviews will explore how immigration statuses shape the brokering and the unique integration processes that unfold among parents and their adult children. To this end, exploring the impact of immigration status on this process will unveil how children of immigrants not only broker information but are also uniquely positioned to facilitate access to vital social, legal, and economic institutions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.