Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: Immigration
- Creators: Estrada, Emir
Description
This dissertation research examines the impact of migration on the emotional well-being of temporary, low-wage workers who migrate from the Global South to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Unlike previous research in the UAE, this study’s sample reflects a far broader diversity of nationalities and occupations, and focuses on those earning in the lowest wage bracket. Their experiences revealed the systemic attributes of precarity and the violent structures that perpetuate them.
My research addresses several substantive debates. I found that rather than emigrating for rational reasons—as neoclassical theory of migration posits—the migrants in my study tended to rationalize their reasons for emigrating through processes of cognitive dissonance. Further, where previous scholarship has tended to conflate issues of national, ethnic, and racial discrimination, I disentangle the processes that motivate discriminatory behavior by showing how seemingly innocuous references to “nationality” can be driven by a desire to hide racial prejudices, while at the same time, conflating all as “racism” can reflect a simplistic analysis of the contributing factors. I show how past historical structures of colonialism and slavery are manifest in current forms of structural violence and how this violence is differentially experienced on the basis of nationality, perceived racial differences, and/or ethnicity. Additionally, my research expands theories related to the spatial dimension of discrimination. It examines how zones of marginalization shape the experiences of low-wage migrant workers as they move through or occupy these spaces. Marginalizing zones limit workers’ access to the sociality of the city and its institutional resources, which consequently increase their vulnerability.
Individual well-being is determined by stressful events that one encounters, by personal and external sources of resilience, and by perceptions of oneself and the stressful events. For the migrants in my study, their stressors were chronic, cumulative, and ambiguous, and while they brought with them a sufficient amount of personal resilience, it was often mitigated by non-compliance and lack of enforcement of UAE laws. The result was a state of well-being defined by isolation, fear, and despair.
My research addresses several substantive debates. I found that rather than emigrating for rational reasons—as neoclassical theory of migration posits—the migrants in my study tended to rationalize their reasons for emigrating through processes of cognitive dissonance. Further, where previous scholarship has tended to conflate issues of national, ethnic, and racial discrimination, I disentangle the processes that motivate discriminatory behavior by showing how seemingly innocuous references to “nationality” can be driven by a desire to hide racial prejudices, while at the same time, conflating all as “racism” can reflect a simplistic analysis of the contributing factors. I show how past historical structures of colonialism and slavery are manifest in current forms of structural violence and how this violence is differentially experienced on the basis of nationality, perceived racial differences, and/or ethnicity. Additionally, my research expands theories related to the spatial dimension of discrimination. It examines how zones of marginalization shape the experiences of low-wage migrant workers as they move through or occupy these spaces. Marginalizing zones limit workers’ access to the sociality of the city and its institutional resources, which consequently increase their vulnerability.
Individual well-being is determined by stressful events that one encounters, by personal and external sources of resilience, and by perceptions of oneself and the stressful events. For the migrants in my study, their stressors were chronic, cumulative, and ambiguous, and while they brought with them a sufficient amount of personal resilience, it was often mitigated by non-compliance and lack of enforcement of UAE laws. The result was a state of well-being defined by isolation, fear, and despair.
ContributorsReber-Rider, Elizabeth A (Author) / Tsuda, Takeyuki (Thesis advisor) / Estrada, Emir (Committee member) / Martin, Nathan D (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Literature on the undocumented population in the United States is rich, and is growing in the area of the 1.5 generation (which refers to undocumented individuals, typically under age 30, who have grown up in the U.S.), but is scant regarding the health of this population, how they alleviate illnesses and what resources they have to do so. While Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) provides temporary benefits to undocumented youth, a DACA health gap persists. Even for those who are awarded DACA, when compared to their citizen counterparts, resources are still unequal. The 1.5 generation faces unique health challenges and even with policy progress, circumstances tied to their documentation status leave them reverting back to limited resources. In this study, ten members of this generation were interviewed. Findings show that they suffer from minor physical health challenges, but significant mental and emotional health challenges without the means to access adequate healthcare comparable to their citizen counterparts.
ContributorsDay, Elinor Gabriela (Author) / Estrada, Emir (Thesis director) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This study investigates the perceptions and experiences of U.S. urban poverty among Mexican immigrant women living in La Villita, a neighborhood in Chicago. La Villita is the largest Mexican and Mexican American neighborhood in the Midwest with a population of 77% Mexican and Mexican Americans, with women making up 43% of the population, and 34% of the population living below the poverty line. Although women are less than 50% of La Villita’s population, immigrant women are more likely to experience poverty and earn lower wages than immigrant men. Using qualitative methods and a demographic survey, this study explores the ways in which immigrant women perceive and experience living in a low-income neighborhood. This study addresses the following three questions: 1) How do citizenship status, migration experience, and gender inform the ways Mexican immigrant women experience and manage poverty in Chicago? 2) How do their pre-migration experiences in Mexico influence the women’s perceptions of U.S. poverty? And 3) How do Mexican immigrant women develop and/or find resources from in their low-income neighborhood in Chicago? This study applies a transnational feminist framework to thirty-five semi-structured interviews and demographic surveys. The findings demonstrate that women’s perceptions about poverty are constructed before migrating to the U.S. Once in the U.S., these perceptions begin to change because of their continued referencing to what used to be their living situations in Mexico. However, even though some of the women might not identify as poor after years living in the U.S., their perceptions of escaping poverty in the U.S. are based on attaining basic necessities such as shelter, food, and clothing. Based on the findings of this study, the women’s experiences of poverty informs us that the lack of social opportunities in the women’s lives hinders their full participation in society, an exclusion that perpetuates poverty. Thus, this study shifts the focus from material deprivation to social exclusion as an additional factor that sustains poverty. The last finding demonstrates how women manage living in poverty and how La Villita itself is a resource that offsets some of the material and social challenges they face in the U.S.
ContributorsGutierrez, Julia (Author) / Leong, Karen J (Thesis advisor) / Romero, Mary (Committee member) / Fonow, Mary M (Committee member) / Durfee, Alesha (Committee member) / Estrada, Emir (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
This dissertation research examines the impact of migration on the emotional well-being of temporary, low-wage workers who migrate from the Global South to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Unlike previous research in the UAE, this study’s sample reflects a far broader diversity of nationalities and occupations, and focuses on those earning in the lowest wage bracket. Their experiences revealed the systemic attributes of precarity and the violent structures that perpetuate them.
My research addresses several substantive debates. I found that rather than emigrating for rational reasons—as neoclassical theory of migration posits—the migrants in my study tended to rationalize their reasons for emigrating through processes of cognitive dissonance. Further, where previous scholarship has tended to conflate issues of national, ethnic, and racial discrimination, I disentangle the processes that motivate discriminatory behavior by showing how seemingly innocuous references to “nationality” can be driven by a desire to hide racial prejudices, while at the same time, conflating all as “racism” can reflect a simplistic analysis of the contributing factors. I show how past historical structures of colonialism and slavery are manifest in current forms of structural violence and how this violence is differentially experienced on the basis of nationality, perceived racial differences, and/or ethnicity. Additionally, my research expands theories related to the spatial dimension of discrimination. It examines how zones of marginalization shape the experiences of low-wage migrant workers as they move through or occupy these spaces. Marginalizing zones limit workers’ access to the sociality of the city and its institutional resources, which consequently increase their vulnerability.
Individual well-being is determined by stressful events that one encounters, by personal and external sources of resilience, and by perceptions of oneself and the stressful events. For the migrants in my study, their stressors were chronic, cumulative, and ambiguous, and while they brought with them a sufficient amount of personal resilience, it was often mitigated by non-compliance and lack of enforcement of UAE laws. The result was a state of well-being defined by isolation, fear, and despair.
My research addresses several substantive debates. I found that rather than emigrating for rational reasons—as neoclassical theory of migration posits—the migrants in my study tended to rationalize their reasons for emigrating through processes of cognitive dissonance. Further, where previous scholarship has tended to conflate issues of national, ethnic, and racial discrimination, I disentangle the processes that motivate discriminatory behavior by showing how seemingly innocuous references to “nationality” can be driven by a desire to hide racial prejudices, while at the same time, conflating all as “racism” can reflect a simplistic analysis of the contributing factors. I show how past historical structures of colonialism and slavery are manifest in current forms of structural violence and how this violence is differentially experienced on the basis of nationality, perceived racial differences, and/or ethnicity. Additionally, my research expands theories related to the spatial dimension of discrimination. It examines how zones of marginalization shape the experiences of low-wage migrant workers as they move through or occupy these spaces. Marginalizing zones limit workers’ access to the sociality of the city and its institutional resources, which consequently increase their vulnerability.
Individual well-being is determined by stressful events that one encounters, by personal and external sources of resilience, and by perceptions of oneself and the stressful events. For the migrants in my study, their stressors were chronic, cumulative, and ambiguous, and while they brought with them a sufficient amount of personal resilience, it was often mitigated by non-compliance and lack of enforcement of UAE laws. The result was a state of well-being defined by isolation, fear, and despair.
ContributorsReber-Rider, Elizabeth (Author) / Tsuda, Takeyuki (Thesis advisor) / Estrada, Emir (Committee member) / Martin, Nathan D (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Women of Latin American descent comprise at least 20% of the nearly seventeen million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormon or LDS Church). This dissertation study examines the lives of 69 Latina immigrant Mormon mothers living in the U.S. Southwest. With qualitative interviews, participant observation, and Photovoice (community-driven, participant-based photo collection), I investigated how race, ethnicity, gender, geography, legal status, and religion shape women's migration, marriage, and mothering decisions. Chapter One shows how Latina immigrants experienced ethno-racial belonging, exclusion, and social positionality. An "ethnoreligious hybridity" concept explains how Latinas adopted Mormonism alongside their racial and ethnic identities. Chapter Two examines participants' perceptions within Spanish-speaking LDS congregations. Latina Mormons perceived these worship spaces as beneficial for social networking, cultural preservation, and family support. There were tensions among LDS Latinx due to class differences, colorism, migration statuses, and historical political climates. I coined “congregational heterophily” to describe this congregational heterogeneity and diversity. Chapter Three examines women's dating and marriage practices by race, class, and immigration status. The Mormon Latinas in my study preferred marriage to other Latinos or co-ethnics. Ethnocentrism, racism, and gendered expectations can strain pan ethnic Latinx LDS partnerships. Another third had married white Mormon men. The relationship between Latinas and their white in-laws was often fraught with racial aggression and cultural clashes. Across Chapter Four, I examine how immigration status, culture, and race affect women's mothering. Latina Mormons is expected to be devout church members who excel at motherhood. Women felt pressure to provide social, spiritual, and financial support even after their children were adults. As a result of intersectional disadvantages caused by race, legal status, and gender, Latina Mormon immigrants experience increased maternal stress. Leaders, church members, and other mothers stigmatize Latinas when they do not meet church and motherhood expectations. I used "matriarchal policing” to describe these religious pressures and frequent social monitoring. Collectively, the results of this ethnographic study challenge stereotypes about Mormonism and add to academic knowledge about gendered migration, marriage, and motherhood while providing institutional and community solutions.
ContributorsRomanello, Brittany (Author) / Estrada, Emir (Thesis advisor) / Tsuda, Takeyuki Gaku (Thesis advisor) / SturtzSreetharan, Cindi (Committee member) / Flores-González, Nilda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This undergraduate honors thesis explores the process and motivating factors associated with immigrants from Mexico who are in the process of becoming U.S. citizens. This project is based on 20 interviews with Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) of Mexican origin who have had lawful permanent status for 20 years or more. While immigrants are eligible to apply for citizenship after five years of being LPRs, most, like my respondents, take longer. Why do LPRs experience a delay of 20 years or more in applying for citizenship? Findings from this study reveal that motivating factors associated with becoming a U.S. citizen are 1) a desire to be socially accepted and integrated by and into American society; 2) to overcome the fear of failing their citizenship interview; and 3) to change the growing anti-immigrant rhetoric by becoming citizens and increasing the presence of naturalized citizens in American society. Respondents also revealed that their bilingual-speaking children were the biggest motivators that helped with accessing information in regard to citizenship and voting.
ContributorsRodriguez, Alexis (Author) / Estrada, Emir (Thesis director) / Funk, Kendall D. (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2022-05