“For my children:”

Deborah examines the social institution of family in a transnation in her article, "For my children": Constructing family and navigating the state in the US-Mexico transnation. The article focuses on migrant parents' children and how they manage the difficulties of moving from Mexico to the US. The paper's abstract is quite concise and clearly states the author's goals with regard to the subject at hand. Deborah examines how the precarious job undertaken by the migrants threatens the safety of the children and puts the cohesion of the family in jeopardy. The author gives particular attention to the children of the immigrants and how they construct relationships with their parents and others when they arrive in the US. Moreover, it provides insight on how children develop a sense of identity in a transnation state. Furthermore, the article looks at how state policies of migration in the US impact the migrant families from Mexico.

The author conducted an ethnographic study of Mexican migrant families. The study observed and interviewed families in San Marcos, San Louis Potosi, Mexico as they prepare to migrate and those that have arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The author focuses on the border crossing of Ciudad Juarez between Mexico and the US. Deborah also conducts a literature review on transnationalism on migrant families and the Bracero program that contracts laborer from Mexico (779). The variables being explored are how children on the move are affected, transnation features, the reunification of families and the construction of family in transnation.

The results of the study are impressive. From the interviews with Nina, children who stay behind feel a sense of security and belonging with their relatives while those who travel north faces the risk of losing the bond with their parents who are deported when their undocumented status is known (782). Furthermore, it emerges that many families become single parent households as the majority of those who travel north are males causing families to be less patriarchal. In the case where both parents migrate, children are left with only their extended family members amid rising cases of insecurity (789). There is the controversy for parents who had children and give birth to more in the US who are given naturalized status while those born in Mexico are not. However, from the interview with Susan, even children born in the US face state prosecution and their efforts to attain citizenship are frustrated. The study concludes that the impact of migration on children is less documented and that the concept of family by Mexican migrants is constructed through immigration policies implemented by the US.

The article is organized professionally, and the interviews conducted ethically. However, the study fails to incorporate the views of children regarding the family in transnation state. What measures can be put in place to ensure migrant Mexican children adapt to life in the states? The audience should answer this question.

Gutierrez, D. G. The Columbia history of Latinos in the US since 1960. Chapter 1.Columbia University Press: New York, 2004, pp.42-77.

In The Columbia history of the Latinos in the US since 1960, author David Gutierrez examines the Mexican population in the US in the late 20th century. The article explores the issues of labor migration, demographic revolution, and globalization about the Mexican population. Gutierrez argues that ethnic Mexicans make up the largest sub-group of Latino population in the US. The article traces how labor demands in the US fueled migration of Mexicans, sociocultural factors that have led to demographic changes and how globalization has eased the movement of Mexicans into and out of the US while spreading beyond their traditional areas of resident towards the North and Midwest. Gutierrez introduces the history by providing a glimpse of the upcoming Mexican parades, carnivals, T-shirts, soccer leagues, food and cuisine, and dance particularly in the deep south as an evidence of growing Mexican-American influence in the US.

The article states that ethnic Americans have been an integral part of the US before and after the US-Mexico war of 1846. The author emphasizes that labor demands led to the growing presence of Mexicans who held precarious jobs before the Great depression (45). Majority of Mexicans maintained proximal relations with their counterparts back in Mexico that strengthens their culture in the US while also emphasizing the need to get educated to get better job opportunities in the states. The struggle for Mexican-Americans for civil rights has not been as aggressive as African-Americans because the majority of them don’t view themselves as citizens of the US (53). The population of ethnic Mexicans and Mexican-Americans has grown significantly because of poor economic conditions in Mexico during the 1970’s and 80’s.

The primary audience of this article is the Latino population in the US, anthropologists, history students and policy makers. The issue of migrants being a controversial subject, it will help white Americans to understand the Mexicans and reasons for their migration to the US whether legal or illegal. How have the demographics of Mexican-Americans shifted? What sociocultural trends have emerged as a result of Mexican migration into the US? These are the questions the audience should bear in mind while reading the article

The article concludes by stating that the Mexican-American population will continue to grow because the level of migration is still high. Moreover, the Spanish culture regarding language, cuisine, and dance are becoming an integral part of American society due to Mexican-Americans.

The article is well written, arguments are organized, and sources cited appropriately. It is relevant to the growing discussions on the future of minorities in the US. However, the article focuses on only Mexicans while neglecting Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and other Latino sub-groups.











Work Cited

Deborah, A. B. “For my children:” Constructing family and navigating the state in the U.S Mexico transnation. Anthropology Quarterly, Volume 81, Number 4, Fall 2008, pp.777-802.

Gutierrez, D. G. The Columbia history of Latinos in the US since 1960. Chapter 1.Columbia University Press: New York, 2004, pp.42-77.