How immigrant communities are building social fields across boundaries and the importance of these network links to immigrant integration success.

1. Transnational
Communities-
- not your grandfather’s diaspora
Framingham State University
Alvaro Lima, September 2012

2. AGENDA:
I. What is “Immigrant Transnationalism”?
II. Traditional versus Transnational Lenses
III. Measuring Transnationalism
IV. Some Implications of Transnationalism
V. Innovation Portfolio

3.  Traditionally immigration policies have been almost entirely focused on
procedures and prohibitions governing admissions (who? how many? and what
kind of immigrants should be admitted?).

4.  There is a widespread belief that migration is caused by poverty, economic
stagnation, and overpopulation in the countries of origin unrelated to receiving
countries’ foreign policies, economic needs and broader international economic
conditions;
 While overpopulation, poverty, and economic stagnation all create pressures for
migration, there are systematic, structural relations between globalization and
migration flows with worldwide evidence of a considerable patterning in the
geography of migrations.
poverty
stagnation
overpopulation
etc…

5. Foreign-Born Population of Rich OECD Countries from Developing Countries
Population Top Five
Total from Percent of Source
Top Five Source
Country Population Developing Total Countries
Countries
(millions) Countries Population (percent of
(millions) total)
United States 281.4 10.1 45.2 Mexico, Philippines, Puerto
28.4
Rico, India, China
Morocco, Ecuador,
Spain 40.8 1.5 3.7 44.2 Colombia, Argentina,
Venezuela
France 58.5 3.7 6.4 20.4 Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia,
Turkey, Vietnam
UK 58.8 5.1 30.1 India, Pakistan,
3.0 Bangladesh, Jamaica,
South Africa
Netherlands 16.0 1.2 7.6 48.6 Suriname, Turkey,
Indonesia, Morocco,
Netherlands Antilles
Portugal 10.4 0.5 4.5 62.8 Angola, Mozambique,
Brazil, Cape Verde,
Venezuela
Japan 127 1.0 69.6 North Korea, South Korea,
1.2 China, Brazil, Philippines
Source: Let Their People Come, Lant Pritchett, 2006

6.  Immigrant integration policies (education, training, placement, ESOL, health care,
entrepreneurship, citizenship, etc..) are skeletal, ad hoc, under-funded and
dominated by the ideology of assimilation;
 As Nathan Glazer puts it, “the settlement, adaptation, and progress, or lack of it,
of immigrants is largely, in the U.S. context, up to them.”
labor market
language acquisition
housing
education
etc…

7.  Re-integration policies for those returning are generally inexistent
making the re-settlement process prone to failure feeding back
emigration:
labor market
housing
education
etc…

8. What is “Immigrant Transnationalism”?
 Regular, frequent engagement in economic, political and socio-cultural
activities in both countries:

9. Drivers of Transnationalism:
 Developments in the means of transportation and
communications have changed the relations between people
and places (costs);
 International migrations have become crucial to the
demographic future of many developed countries;
 Global political transformations and new international legal
regimes weakened the state as the only legitimate source of
rights;
 Fostered by global consumption, global production, and
immigration, cultural hybridization are substituting folkloric
romanticism and political nationalism enshrined as essences
of national cultures;

10.  Contexts of exit and modes of incorporation facilitate or impede, foster
or discourage, demand or preclude some or all of the cross-border
activities:
Contexts of Exit and Incorporation
Context of Incorporation: Context of Exit:
 Inclusion & Exclusion Structures  Education Level
 Alien versus Citizenship Rights  Race and Ethnicity
 Government and Other Support Systems  Family Wealth
 Race and Ethnicity Structures  Urban versus Rural Origin
 Etc.  Government Support Structures
 Etc.
Transnational
Country of Social Field
Settlement
Transnational Country
Non-migrants
migrants Transnational
activities embedded in of Origin
transnational
social fields

11. Traditional versus Transnational Lenses
Traditional Lenses: Transnational Lenses:
 immigration conceptualized as a bipolar relation  immigration conceptualized as flows of cross-
between sending and receiving countries border economic, political and social-cultural
(moving from there to here) activities (being here and there)
 emigration is the result of individual search for  emigration is the result of geopolitical interests,
economic opportunity, political freedom, etc. global linkages, and economic globalization
 migrants are assumed to be the poorest of the  migrants are not the poorest of the poor nor do
poor they come from the poorest nations
 immigrants occupy low-skilled jobs in  growth in the service and technology-based jobs
agriculture, construction, and manufacturing create opportunities for low as well as high
skilled migrants
 Immigrants steadily shift their contextual focus,  After the initial movement, migrants continue to
economic and social activities to receiving maintain ties with their country of origin
country
 immigration should not bring about significant  immigration creates hybrid societies with a
change in the receiving society richer cultural milieu
11

12. Monthly Remittance by Nationality
$875
$900
$800
$700 MEASURING
$600 TRANSNATIONALISM
$500 ABOVE AVERAGE
$398
$400 AVERAGE = $294
$331
$278 $274
$300 BELOW AVERAGE
$218
$192 $188 $185 $177
$200
$113
$100
$-
Purchasing of Nostalgic Products Among Brazilians
50.0% 45.4%
Financial Accounts in Country of Origin - Brazil 45.0%
40.0%
37.6% 35.0%
40.0%
30.0%
35.0% 25.0% 20.5%
28.9% 17.8%
20.0%
30.0% 26.0%
15.0%
25.0% 10.0% 5.1% 4.9% 3.7%
5.0% 1.6% 0.8% 0.2%
20.0% 0.0%
15.0%
10.0% 5.5%
5.0% 1.6%
0.3%
0.0%
Does not Checking Savings Credit card Investment Foreign
have / NR account account account currency
savings

13. Help Beyond Remittances
50.0% 46.6%
45.0%
40.0% 36.80%
35.0% ABOVE AVERAGE
30.0% 27.0%
22.7%
25.0% AVERAGE = 19.2%
20.0%
20.0%
15.3%
14.0% BELOW AVERAGE
15.0%
10.3%
9.1%
10.0% 5.7%
3.7%
5.0%
0.0%
Support of Hometown Associations
30.0%
26.3%
25.0%
MEASURING 20.0%
TRANSNATIONALISM 15.0% ABOVE AVERAGE
12.4%
10.0%
10.0% AVERAGE = 6.7%
6.7%
5.0%
4.0% 3.5% BELOW AVERAGE
5.0% 3.3% 2.8% 2.4%
0.0%
0.0%
13

14. MEASURING
TRANSNATIONALISM

15. Some Implications of Transnationalism:
 Portability becomes crucial for transnational migrants – education and
certification processes; investment and retirement schemes, health
insurance, etc.;
 Concepts such as “local development,” “local community” and “social
capital” must be redefined as space of flows (relationships) instead of just
geographic places to accommodate transnational behavior;
 Transnational immigrant entrepreneurs’ contribution to the revitalization of
inner city neighborhoods across the U.S. is vital and entrepreneurial
support systems should adapt to serve them;
 Nation-state ideals of identity in both sending and receiving countries are
challenged by transnational practices;
 States must re-conceive immigration and adapt their policies and
practices to accommodate transnational realities;

16. 1st Generation Innovation Portfolio:
Digaai.com
Transnational Index
Diaspora Capital Services
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
Transnational Fellows
The Role of Transnational Immigrant Organizations

17. What if… (scenario 2)
Digaai.com
 2 million Brazilians around the world:
 communicate home with each other (social
networking)
 register their experience/build unique archives
through video, photos, etc.
 search newspapers, magazines, websites, etc.
 contribute to Brazilian diaspora wiki
 store personal information using private web space
17

18. 18

19. Transnational Index
 What:
 Data and survey-based ranking of communities by their
degree of transnationalism
 Published annually in partnership with national media
 Why:
 create awareness among policy makers of transnational
phenomena
 identify social and commercial innovation opportunities
for transnational immigrant communities
 build consciousness among transnational immigrants of
unique potential
19

20. Designing the Index