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Transnational Behavior in Comparative Perspective

The Relationship between Immigrant Integration and Transnationalism in New York, El Paso, and Paris

Comparative Migration Studies volume 2, pages 305–333 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

This paper examines transnationalism across migrant generational statuses in three urban centers. The objective of this study is to explore how immigrant integration influences the maintenance of social and economic connections with the communities-of-origin. To accomplish this objective we examine the impact of socio-economic status and generational status (first to third) on whether respondents remit, visit their communities-of-origin, or desire to return. The data for this study is based on survey data collected in New York City, New York, U.S.A.;El Paso, Texas, U.S.A.;and Paris, France. We find that transnational practices differ across the three locations. In Paris we find evidence of reactive transnationalism — looking abroad due to exclusion in the new society. In New York, however, there is more support for resource-based transnationalism — better legal and socioeconomic integration that allows for more transnational involvement. Transnationalism in El Paso differs from NYC and Paris in large part due to being located along the U.S.-Mexico border. Surprisingly, we find that El Paso respondents are less transnational than those in Paris or New York when it comes to remittances, visiting, and the desire to return to the sending community. We conclude by proposing a new typology of transnationalism that accentuates the contextual aspects of these practices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre on Migration, Policy, and Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Ernesto Castañeda (Visiting academic)

  2. New School for Social Research, Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, New York City, USA

    Ernesto Castañeda (Visiting academic)

  3. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas, El Paso, USA

    Maria Cristina Morales (Associate Professor of Sociology)

  4. University of Texas, El Paso, USA

    Olga Ochoa (Master student)

Authors
  1. Ernesto Castañeda
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  2. Maria Cristina Morales
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  3. Olga Ochoa
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Correspondence to Ernesto Castañeda.

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Castañeda, E., Morales, M.C. & Ochoa, O. Transnational Behavior in Comparative Perspective. CMS 2, 305–333 (2014). https://doi.org/10.5117/CMS2014.3.CAST

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