Disenchanting citizenship
Subtitle: Mexican migrants and the boundaries of belonging
By: Luis F. B. Plascencia
Series: Latinidad : transnational cultures in the United States
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New Brunswick, NJ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 252
ISBN-13: 9780813552798; 9780813552804; 9780813553344
Subjects: Politics and government; Ethnic identity; Government policy; Citizenship; Civil rights; Migrations; Ethnic relations; Social conditions; Mexicans; Mexican Americans; Emigration and immigration; Aliens
Description: "Disenchanting citizenship explores the meaning of U.S. citizenship through the experience of a unique group of Mexican migrants who were granted Temporary Status under the 'legalization' provisions of the 1986 IRCA, attained Lawful Permanent Residency, and later became U.S. citizens. Luis F.B. Plascencia integrates an extensive and multifaceted collection of interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, ethno-historical research, and public policy analysis in examining efforts to promote the acquisition of citizenship, the teaching of citizenship classes, and naturalization ceremonies. Ultimately, he unearths citizenship's root as a Janus-faced construct that encompasses a simultaneous process of inclusion and exclusion. This notion of citizenship is mapped on to the migrant experience, with the surprising result that the acquisition of citizenship can lead to disenchantment with the very status desired. In the end, Plascencia expands our understanding of the dynamics of U.S. citizenship as a form of membership and belonging."--Page 4 of cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.