Mexican Immigrant Replenishment and the Continuing Significance of Ethnicity and Race

Abstract

The literature on assimilation and ethnic identity formation largely assumes that the durability of ethnic boundaries is a function of the assimilation measures that sociologists commonly employ. But this literature fails to account adequately for the role of immigration patterns in explaining the durability and nature of ethnic boundaries. Using 123 in-depth interviews with later-generation Mexican Americans, this article shows that Mexican immigrant replenishment shapes ethnic boundaries and ethnic identity formation. The sizable immigrant population sharpens intergroup boundaries through the indirect effects of nativism and by contributing to the continuing significance of race in the lives of later-generation Mexican Americans. The presence of a large immigrant population also creates intragroup boundaries that run through the Mexican-origin population and that are animated by expectations about ethnic authenticity. The article illustrates the importance of immigrant replenishment to processes of assimilation and ethnic identity formation.

"We look similar and have the same geographical origin": translocal encounters of second-generation Eritreans with a new generation of refugees from Eritrea

“…The paper further provides insights into the diversity among the Eritrean diaspora and reveals that the relations between the second-generation Eritreans and the newly arrived generation Eritreans cannot be understood without the political context and the history of Eritrea's diaspora. We have shown that the contemporary arrival of a new generation of Eritrean refugees not only shapes the translocal sphere but also that they present an important new factor in the process of identity formation of those who were born and/or raised in the diaspora (see Jiménez, 2008). We have argued that encounters and interactions with the newly arrived Eritreans both personally and as a group in a discourse thereby represent crucial elements in this process.…”

“…Hence, identity formation in a translocal context may involve various dynamic spaces of encounters that influence the relation to various locations and the renegotiation of identities. Although new immigrants thereby play an important role, their influence on the identity formation process of post-immigrant generations from the same origin has received only little attention and thus needs to be taken into account in research on identity formation of people with immigrant background (Jiménez, 2008(Jiménez, :1562. The Eritrean diaspora in Switzerland is special due to the two distinct generations of immigration, their tense relationship, and different perception of Eritrean politics that exists among Eritreans.…”

“…Thus, they face specific questions of how to relate to different people and places and negotiate, either consciously or unconsciously, their relationships towards different localities and societies and so position themselves within a translocal social field. Jiménez illustrates that the influx of new immigrants from the ancestral home thereby presents an important aspect for the identity formation of post-immigrant generations, which, however, has been only marginally discussed in research (see Jiménez, 2008). The new Eritrean refugees thus may be understood as influential translocal actors regarding identity formation of second-generation Eritreans.…”

“…Consequently, the influx of immigrants from the ancestral home country entails that characteristics such as language and the look become important aspects of the identity formation of post-immigration generations (see Jiménez, 2008). Facing people who look similar makes second-generation Eritreans aware of their common geographical origin and Eritrean roots.…”

Who are we? Parental influences on self-identities and self-esteem of second generation youths in Spain

“…8). The work of Jiménez (2008) also shows that replenishment of the rst generation through continuous immigration from the sending country sharpens intergroup boundaries and re-af rms ethnic identities among Mexican-Americans, thereby slowing down assimilation. The external validity or representativeness of these ndings varies greatly.…”