From Immigrant to Transmigrant: Theorizing Transnational Migration

Author(s): Nina Glick Schiller, Linda Basch, Cristina Szanton Blanc

Source: Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 68, No. 1 (Jan., 1995), pp. 48-63
Published by: The George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research
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FROM IMMIGRANTTO TRANSMIGRANT:THEORIZING
TRANSNATIONALMIGRATION
NINA GLICKSCHILLER
Universityof New Hampshire

LINDA BASCH
WagnerCollege

CRISTINA SZANTON BLANC

ColumbiaUniversity

Contemporaryimmigrantscan not be characterizedas the "uprooted."Many are trans-

migrants,becomingfirmly rooted in their new countrybut maintainingmultiplelinkages
to their homeland.In the UnitedStates anthropologistsare engagedin buildinga transna-
tional anthropologyand rethinkingtheir data on immigration.Migrationproves to be an
importanttransnationalprocess that reflectsand contributesto the currentpolitical con-
figurationsof the emergingglobal economy.In this articlewe use our studies of migration
from St. Vincent,Grenada,the Philippines,and Haiti to the U.S. to delineatesome of the
parametersof an ethnographyof transnationalmigrationand explorethe reasonsfor and
the implicationsof transnationalmigrations.We concludethat the transnationalconnec-
tions of immigrantsprovidea subtextof the public debatesin the U.S. aboutthe meritsof
immigration.[transnationalism,immigration,nation-state,nationalism,identity]

In the United States several generationsof re- ing a new processof migration,scholarsof transna-
searchershave viewed immigrantsas personswho tionalmigrationemphasizethe ongoingandcontin-
uprootthemselves,leave behindhomeand country, uing ways in which current-day immigrants
and face the painfulprocessof incorporation into a constructand reconstitutetheir simultaneousem-
differentsocietyand culture(Handlin1973[1951]; beddednessin more than one society.The purpose
Takaki 1993). A new conceptof transnationalmi- of this articleis to delineatethe parametersof an
gration is emerging, however, that questions this ethnographyof transnationalmigrationand use
long-held conceptualizationof immigrants,sug- this anthropologyto explorethe ways in whichthe
gestingthat in both the U.S. and Europe,increas- currentdebateon immigrationin the U.S. can be
ing numbersof immigrantsare best understoodas readas a nation-statebuildingprojectthat delimits
"transmigrants."Transmigrantsare immigrants and constrainsthe allegiances and loyalties of
whose daily lives dependon multipleand constant transmigrants. Oncewe reframethe conceptof im-
interconnectionsacross internationalbordersand migrant and examine the political factors which
whose public identitiesare configuredin relation- have
shapedthe image of immigrantsas the up-
ship to more than one nation-state(Glick Schiller rooted,a wholenew approachto understanding im-
et al. 1992a;Basch et al. 1994). They are not so- andthe currentdebateaboutimmigration
migrants
journersbecause they settle and become incorpo- becomespossible.
rated in the economyand politicalinstitutions,lo-
calities, and patternsof daily life of the countryin Threevignettesof discontinuitieswe have ob-
whichthey reside.However,at the very same time, served betweenthe transnational practicesof immi-
they are engagedelsewhere thein sense that they grants and common assumptions aboutimmigrants
maintain connections,build institutions,conduct made by scholars,membersof the public,the me-
transactions, and influence local and national dia and publicofficialsexpertsillustratethe myopic
eventsin the countriesfromwhichthey emigrated. view of immigrantsdemonstratedin much public
Transnationalmigration is the process by debate.The vignettespointto the need to redefine
which immigrantsforge and sustain simultaneous our terminologyand reformulatesomeof our basic
multi-strandedsocial relations that link together conceptualizationsof the current immigrant
their societiesof originand settlement.In identify- experience.
48
 FROMIMMIGRANTTO TRANSMIGRANT
A large numberof Filipinohouseholdsare transnational
with individuals,resources,goods, and services moving back
and forth betweenthe U.S., the Philippines,and other coun-
tries. Decisionsthat affectthe daily lives of householdmembers
are made across national borders.Yet Szanton Blanc noted,
while participatingwith census organizersand Filipinoimmi-
grantsliving in New York in discussionsthat precededthe ad-
ministrationof the 1990 U.S. Census, that census questions
about householdsdid not reflectthe transnationalismof these
populations.1The questionsassumedthat all Filipinosresided
in the U.S. permanently,havingcut their ties with their coun-
tries of origin. The partial characterof many of the Filipino
householdslocated in the U.S. that participatedin the census
interviewwas not recognized.The frequencyof travelbetween
the two countries,the ongoingrelationshipsbetweenhousehold
membersliving in both locations marked by a constant ex-
change of funds and resources,and the organizationof activi-
ties acrossborderswere not examined.Hence, officialsof gov-
ernmentaland civic institutionsoften formulatepolicies and
programsbased on census data that inadequatelycapturethe
structureand mode of operationof many contemporaryimmi-
grant households.
At a dinnerrecentlyGlick Schillerlistenedwhile interna-
tionaldevelopmentexpertsdebatedthe degreeto whichland in
the Haitiancountrysidewas cultivatedby squatters.Thesespe-
cialistsdid not consultwith the only Haitianat the table. They
did not expect him to be familiarwith questionsof land tenure
in Haiti because he was an authorityon Haitian cosmology
who had been livingin the U.S. since he was a teenager.What
they did not consider was that the Haitian scholar and his
brotherownedland in Haiti and that the two brothershad ne-
gotiateda workingrelationshipwith the squatterswho livedon
that land. Like so many Haitians in the U.S., the Haitian
scholarrelatesto Haiti throughdiverseand ongoingsocial and
class relationshipsthat influencehis stance towardsdevelop-
ment in Haiti. Expertson Haiti routinelyignorethe impactof
transnationalmigrationon all aspects of Haitian society, in-
cluding Haiti's relationshipto the U.S.
At Expo 1993, a tradeand culturalfair in Brooklynspon-
soredby the CaribbeanAmericanChamberof Commercethat
Baschattended,one of the panelsexploredthe extent to which
the curriculumin New York City schoolsgives voice to Afri-
can-Caribbeanand African-Americanexperiences.It soon be-
came clear that manyimmigrantfamiliesopt to send theirchil-
dren to privateWest Indian schools in New York where the
curriculumreflectsboth Caribbeanand U.S. experiences,pre-
paringchildrento live a transnationalexistence.Indeed,many
West Indianyoungstersare sent home to the West Indies for
part of their educations.However,public officialsengaged in
curriculumdevelopmentoften do not recognizethat the sociali-
zation of many transmigrantchildrentakes place in an inter-
connected social space encompassingboth the immigrants'
West Indianhome societiesand the U.S.
49
Towardsa TransnationalAnthropology
In the 1960s the word"transnational" was widely
used by studentsof economicprocessesto referto
the establishmentof corporatestructureswith es-
tablished organizationalbases in more than one
state (Martinelli1982). In a separateintellectual
traditionseveralgenerationsof scholarshad been
using the adjective"transnational"to signal an
abatementof nationalboundariesand the develop-
ment of ideas or politicalinstitutionsthat spanned
nationalborders;it is this usage that can be found
in standarddictionaries.For example, Webster's
Third New InternationalDictionary,definingthe
term as "extending or going beyond national
boundaries"(1976: 2430), providestwo examples.
The firstfrom the New Republicmagazinespeaks
of the "abatementof nationalismand the creation
of transnationalinstitutions which will render
boundariesof minorimportance."In the secondci-
tation EdwardSapir reportsthat "by the diffusion
of culturallyimportantwordstransnational vocabu-
laries have grownup."
The recentuse of the adjective"transnational"
in the socialsciencesandculturalstudiesdrawsto-
getherthe variousmeaningsof the wordso that the
restructuring of capitalgloballyis seen as linkedto
the diminishedsignificanceof nationalboundaries
in the productionand distributionof objects,ideas,
and people. Transnationalprocessesare increas-
ingly seen as part of a broaderphenomenonof
globalization,markedby the demiseof the nation-
state and the growthof worldcities that serve as
key nodesof flexiblecapitalaccumulation, commu-
nication,andcontrol(Knox1994;Knightand Gap-
pert 1989). In anthropology2 there has been a re-
newed interest in the flows of culture and
populationacross nationalborders,reviving,in a
new globalandtheoreticalcontext,past interestsin
culturaldiffusion.3Manycontributors to this schol-
arly trendsee it as part of an effortto reconfigure
anthropological thinkingso that it will reflectcur-
rent transformations in the way in whichtime and
space is experiencedand represented(Appadurai
1990, 1991; Gupta and Ferguson1992; Kearney
1991a, 1991b; Hannerz 1989, 1990). Appadurai
has stated that ethnographynow has the task of
determining "the nature of locality, as lived experi-
ence, in a globalized, deterritorialized world"
(1991: 196). He has further argued that there is a
need to reconceptualize the "landscapes of group
identity," a need that flows from the current world
50 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
QUARTERLY
conjuncturein which "groupsare no longertightly
territorialized,spatially bounded,historicallyun-
selfconscious, or culturally homogeneous" (p.
191).'
Migration is one of the important means
throughwhich bordersand boundariesare being
contestedand transgressed(Kearney1991a;Rouse
1991, 1992). Anthropologistswho work with mi-
grantshave much to contributeto our understand-
ing of a new paradox:that the growthand intensifi-
cation of global interconnectionof economic
processes,people, and ideas is accompaniedby a
resurgencein the politicsof differentiation.When
we study migrationrather than abstractcultural
flows or representations, we see that transnational
processesare locatedwithin the life experienceof
individualsand families,makingup the warp and
woof of daily activities, concerns, fears, and
achievements.
Reasons for Transnational Migration
Threeconjoiningpotentforcesin the currentglobal
economylead presentday immigrantsto settle in
countriesthat are centersof global capitalismbut
to live transnationallives: (1) a global restructur-
ing of capital based on changingforms of capital
accumulationhas lead to deterioratingsocial and
economicconditionsin both labor sendingand la-
bor receivingcountrieswith no location a secure
terrainof settlement;(2) racism in both the U.S.
and Europecontributesto the economicand politi-
cal insecurityof the newcomersand their descend-
ants; and (3) the nation buildingprojectsof both
home and host society build political loyalties
among immigrantsto each nation-statein which
they maintainsocial ties.
Capitalismfromits beginningshas been a sys-
tem of productiondependenton globalinterconnec-
tions betweenthe people of the world. Today we
are facing a reconstitutionof the structureof ac-
cumulationso that not only are profitsaccumulated
globally,but all partsof the worldhavebeenincor-
poratedinto a single system of production,invest-
ment, communication,coordination,staffing,pro-
duction, and distribution(Sassen 1994). In this
globalcontextthereis less incentiveto investin en-
tire nationaleconomies.It has becomemoreprofit-
able to base global operationsin certaincities and
regionsthat are emergingas centersof communi-
cation and organization(Sassen 1991). Capital is
beingchanneledinto key sectorsand regionswhile
the infrastructureof transportation,education,
healthservicesare strippedaway fromthose coun-
tries, and sectionsof countriesand cities,definedas
superfluousto the newly definedcircuitsof wealth
and power.Attackson the infrastructure take the
form of structuraladjustmentprogramsin debtor
countriesand calls for reducedtaxes and public
spendingin capitalexportingcountriessuch as the
U.S.
The conditionsfor migrationin a myriadof
economicallyperipheralstates havebeenset by the
intensive penetrationof foreign capital into the
economyand politicalprocessesof "post-colonial"
countriesin the 1960s and 1970s, and the subse-
quent massive growth of indebtednessand eco-
nomicretrenchment.Facedwith wide-spreaddete-
riorationin their standardsof living,professionals,
skilledworkers,unskilledworkers,merchants,and
agriculturalproducersall have fled to globalcities
or to countriessuch as the U.S. that still play cen-
tral rolesin capitalaccumulation.However,oncein
these countries,immigrantsconfronta deepening
economiccrisis that often limits the economicpos-
sibilities and security many are able to obtain.
Moreover,those sectorsof the currentimmigrant
populationwho find themselvesracializedas "His-
panic,""Asian,"or "Black"find that even if they
obtaina secureposition,they face dailydiscrimina-
tion in the pursuitof their life activities.
Observingthe permeabilityof borders and
boundariessignaled by this form of migration,
some observershave begunto speakof the demise
of the nation-state'sability to form and discipline
its subjects(Kearney1991a). However,the task of
creating capitalist subjects,and the task of gov-
erningpopulationswho will workin and acceptthe
worldof vastlyincreasedinequalitiesof wealthand
power, continuesto reside primarilyin different
and unequalstates.Financialinterestsandtransna-
tional conglomeratescontinueto rely on the legiti-
macy and legal, fiscal, and policingstructuresof
the nation-state.'Thereare, however,changespre-
cipitatedby this emergingform of migration.We
are enteringan era in whichstates that can claim
dispersed populations construct themselves as
"deterritorializednation-states" (Basch et al.
1994); states that continueto be bases of capital
ratherthan the homelandof migrantsrespondin
ways that tightenratherthan transgressterritorial
boundaries.The hegemonicpolitical ethic of the
U.S. continuesto demandthat citizens,bothnative
bornand naturalized,swearallegianceonly to the
 FROM IMMIGRANTTO TRANSMIGRANT
U.S. and define their political identity within its
borders.Meanwhile,dominantforcesin laborsend-
ing states imagine their states to exist wherever
their emigrantshave been incorporated.
Memoriesof Things Past: The Issue of History
and Memoryin ImmigrationStudies
It is useful to recall the socially and historically
constructednatureof the conceptof nation-stateto
understandthis aspect of transnationalmigration.
Recent scholarshiphas made it clear that nation-
states are relativelynew inventionsthat can be
linkedto the developmentof capitalismand to the
type of politicaland economicloyaltiesthat serve
the needs of dominantclasses and strata within
modern centralized states (Hobsbawm 1990;
Gellner 1983). Nation-stateswere constructedas
classesand elite strata,strivingto maintainor con-
tend for state power, popularizedmemoriesof a
sharedpast and usedthis historicalnarrativeto au-
thenticateand validate a commonalityof purpose
and nationalinterests(Anderson1991[1983]). This
process of constructing and shaping collective
memoriescan be called nation-statebuilding.Key
to nation-statebuildingas a politicalprocesshas
been the constructionof a myth that each nation-
state containedwithinit a single peopledefinedby
their residencein a commonterritory,their undi-
vided loyalty to a commongovernment,and their
shared cultural heritage. In the past immigrants
wereforcedto abandon,forget,or denytheirties to
home and in subsequentgenerationsmemoriesof
transnationalconnectionswere erased.
There is evidencethat in variousways and to
different degrees, dispersed populationswhether
they werediasporasof Jews (Clifford1994), Pales-
tinians (Gonzalez 1992), or "old world" immi-
grants to the U.S. (Portes and Rumbaut 1990),
maintainednetworksof interconnection. Many im-
migrantsfromEuropewho settledin the late nine-
teenth and early twentieth century maintained
familyties, sendingboth lettersand money(Metz-
ker 1971; Thomas and Znaniecki 1927). Italians
returnedhome to land purchasedthrough labor
abroad (di Leonardi 1984). The Czechs and
Slovacks (Witke 1940), Hungarians (Vassady
1982), and Irish (Highamand Brooks1978) were
among the many immigratingpopulationswho
built strongnationalistmovementsin Europefrom
a base in the U.S.
These ties were discountedand obscuredby
51
the narrativesof nation that were prevalentuntil
the current period of globalization.Assumptions
about the uprootednessof immigrantsfilteredthe
way in which immigranthistorywas recorded,in-
terpreted,and remembered.6 At the heart of the
metaphorof "Americathe melting pot" was a
model of immigrantsettlement in which immi-
grantseschewedthe nationalidentityas well as the
customsand languageof their birth.However,the
ruptureof home ties or their transformationinto
sentimentratherthan connectionis also a central
aspect of pluralistand multiculturalimaginingsof
America in which immigrant groups are en-
couraged to preservetheir culture, custom, and
identityyet be fully embeddedin an Americanmo-
saic (Glazer and Moynihan 1970[1963]; Takaki
1989, 1993). Whetherthe imageryhas beenone of
assimilationinto a newly emergentAmericancul-
ture, or incorporationinto a culturally diverse
America,in the U.S. the forgingof an American
nationalityhas beenand continuesto be the under-
lying concernthat unitedall discourseaboutimmi-
gration.7Whathas beenuniformlydefinedas unac-
ceptable was a migrationin which immigrants
settled permanentlyin their new country while
maintainingties to countries they still saw as
homelands.And yet this is an emergingpattern
amongmany immigrantpopulationscurrentlyset-
tling in the U.S.'
A brief recountingof the Americanization
studiescommissionedby the CarnegieCorporation
in 1918 can serve to illustrateboth the types of
transnationalpoliticalconnectionsthat were main-
tained by previousgenerationsof immigrantsset-
tled in the U.S. and the processesby which these
connectionswere discountedand historicallyoblit-
erated. The studies were commissionedduring
World War I becausethe home ties and political
engagementof large numbersof immigrantsfrom
Europeraisedquestionsabout the allegianceand
loyalty of immigrants.' Researcherswere sur-
roundedby and reportedevidenceof transnational
engagementof immigrantswith their home socie-
ties. Forexample,RobertPark,whosenameis usu-
ally linked to the Carnegiestudies, only became
head of the entireprojectwhen HerbertAdolphus
Miller,who had been leadingthe studies,and who
was Chairof the SociologyDepartmentat Oberlin
College in Ohio, resignedin orderto devotemore
time to organizingthe Leagueof CentralEuropean
Nations (Rausenbush1979). Yet transnational ties
wereonly notedin passingand negativelyvaluedin
52 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
QUARTERLY
the publishedstudies.The studiesdescribedand as-
sessedthe progressmadetowardsincorporating im-
migrantsinto U.S. society. These studies contrib-
uted to the publicperceptionthat such populations
were in fact immigrants;meanwhile,the public
campaignsto insure that these immigrantswere
loyalto the U.S. also soughtto diminishthe contin-
uation of home ties. In subsequentgenerations
these connectionsgenerallywere not remembered
or reportedby social scienceresearchers.It is only
now,and in the contextof the successfulincorpora-
tion of past generationsof immigrants,that a revi-
sionisthistoryin the U.S. is rememberingpersist-
ing transnationalconnectionsof past generationsof
immigrants. (See, for example, Portes and
Rumbaut1990.)
And yet we arguethat the currentconnections
of immigrantsare of a differentorderthan past im-
migrant linkages to home societies. The current
processesof restructuringand reconfiguringglobal
capital have affected both internationalmigration
and nation-statebuildingin significantways. The
new circuitsof capitalprovidethe contextin which
migrantsand the descendantsof migrants,often
fully incorporatedin the countriesof settlement
such as the U.S., maintainor constructanewtrans-
nationalinterconnections that differin their inten-
sity and significancefrom the hometies maintained
by past migrations(Basch et al. 1994). They also
providethe context in which these linkages are
again becomingvisible.Much researchremainsto
be done, but it wouldseem that the currentforms
of capital accumulationand concomitantaltera-
tions in the formationof all classes and strata in-
terpenetratethe politicaland economicprocessesof
nation-statesthroughoutthe world.The increasein
density,multiplicity,and importanceof the trans-
nationalinterconnections of immigrantsis certainly
made possibleand sustainedby transformations in
the technologiesof transportation and communica-
tion. Jet planes,telephones,faxes, and internetcer-
tainly facilitate maintainingclose and immediate
ties to home. However,the tendency of today's
transmigrantsto maintain, build, and reinforce
multiple linkages with their countries of origin
seemsto be facilitatedratherthan producedby the
possibilityof technologicallyabridgingtime and
space. Rather, immigranttransnationalism is best
understoodas a responseto the fact that in a
globaleconomycontemporarymigrantshave found
full incorporationin the countries within which
they resettleeithernot possibleor not desirable.At
the same time parties,factions,and leaderswithin
many countrieswhichcan claim dispersedpopula-
tions have lookedto their diasporasas a globalre-
sourceand constituency.Althoughthey seemingly
rupture boundaries and borders, contemporary
transnationalculturalprocessesand movementsof
people, ideas, and capital have been accompanied
by an increasein an identitypoliticsthat is a cele-
brationof a nation.We are witnessingthe simulta-
neousgrowthof globalizingprocessesand the pre-
eminence of exclusive, bounded, essentialized
nationalisms(Appadurai 1993; Anderson 1992).
This is a momentin which large numbersof peo-
ple, no longerrootedin a single place, go to great
lengths to revitalize,reconstruct,or reinventnot
only their traditionsbut their political claims to
territoryand historiesfrom which they have been
displaced.Moreoverthese "longdistancenational-
ists" (Anderson1992: 12) insist that their collec-
tive claims to ancestralland bear witnessto their
identityas ancient,homogenous,peoples.Transna-
tional processesseem to be accompaniedby the
"re-inscription" of identityonto the territoryof the
homeland(Gupta 1992). The Portuguesegovern-
ment, for example,has declaredPortugalto be a
global nation (Feldman-Bianco1992, 1994). Its
emigrantsand the descendantsof the emigrantsare
part of Portugal even as they live within other
countries. Similarly, Haitians, Vincentians,
Grenedians,and Filipinosmay residepermanently
abroadbut be seen as constituentsof their home
country.
The differencebetweenthe relationshipof past
sending societies towardstheir diasporasand the
currenteffortsof both immigrantsand states with
dispersedpopulationsto constructa deterritorial-
ized nation-statethat encompassesa diasporicpop-
ulation within its domain can be understood
throughexaminingthe trajectoryof Greekmigra-
tion. Greeceis one of the manycases in whichdis-
persed populationshave been engaged in nation-
state building over several centuries. Merchants
and intellectualsof Greekoriginsettledin Western
Europewere importantactors in the politicaland
culturalprocessesof the late eighteenthand early
nineteenthcenturiesthat resultedin the modern
Greek state (Jusdanis1991).1 Crucialintegrative
institutionssuch as local schools,and libraries,the
university,academy,polytechnic,and stadiumwere
built, in large part,by contributionsfromthe dias-
pora.Thereis evidencethat impoverished, illiterate
peasants,as well as wealthy families,contributed
 FROM IMMIGRANTTO TRANSMIGRANT 53

to building national educational institutions (p. est descriptionsof transnationalprocessesare of

213). However,and the point is critical,although householdand family economiesrooted in both
these nation-buildersengagedin multiple,overlap- sendingand receivingsocieties;fewer descriptions
ping transnationalactivitiesin ways that are simi- are availableof transnational organizationsand po-
lar to present-daytransmigrants,they did not litical processes.Rubenstein(1982) and Thomas-
claim that their settlementsabroadwere part of Hope (1985) in the 1980s and more recently
Greece.They were deeplycommittedto the strug- Gmelch (1992), in describing return migration
gle to constituteGreeceas a state with its own au- from England,Canada,and the U.S. to the island
tonomousterritory.This separationof nation-state nation-statesin the West Indies," have docu-
from emigrant populationcan still be found in mentedthe interweaveof transnationalfamilyrela-
statementsof Greek-Americans writingon Greek- tionshipsand economictransactionsthat reserveda
Americanidentity:for example,"amongthoseborn place for returnmigrantsat home,offsettingtheir
in this country . . . one's identity is not that of a global vulnerability.These connectionshave ena-
transplantedGreek,but ratherthe sensibilityof an bled immigrantsduringtheir yearsabroadto have
Americanethnic"(Moskos1989: 146, cited in Jus- childrencared for by kin at home, to continueas
danis 1991: 216). actors in key family decisions,to visit at regular
At present,a significantchange is underway. intervals, and to purchase property and build
Both the Greekgovernmentand personsof Greek homes and businessesin their countriesof origin,
origins settled in various countries around the even as they have boughthomesand createdbusi-
world are redefiningtheir relationshipto Greece. nessesin their countriesof settlement.
The direction of the change is signaled by the
Georges (1990) and Grasmuckand Pessar
adoptionby the Greek governmentof the term (1991) have notedthat individualsand households
"spodemoi"or "Greeksabroad"for all personsof struggled to maintaintheirclass positionsor to se-
Greek ancestry.For a sectorof these people,"the
cure class mobilityin the DominicanRepublicby
unifyingforceof the Hellenicdiasporais no longer
a place, the nation-state of Greece, but the working or setting up businessesin New York.
While such sojournsare sometimestemporary,re-
imagined transcendentalterritory of Greekness turnhomeis often
whichgroupsof individualsmay appropriateto suit "fragile"(GrasmuckandPessar
1991:86), so that manyimmigrantsend up livinga
their own needs and interests" (Jusdanis 1991:
settledexistencein the U.S. but investingin prop-
217). It is in this new transnationalspace that the businessesand socialstatusin the Dominican
Greek governmentis mobilizingpopularopinion erty,
for its currentoppositionto the newlyindependent Republic. Laguerre(1978) and Brown(1991) have
describedHaitiantransnationalfamilynetworksof
state of Macedonia.As they participatein the po-
urbanworking-classhouseholds.Even thoughthey
litical processof reimaginingthe historyof North-
ern Greece (Karakasidou1994; Danforth n.d.), had not fully developeda conceptof transnational-
membersof these populations,many long settled, ism, a few scholarsof migrationrecognizedthat
are participatingin and definingthemselvesas a the transnationallinkagesthat they wereobserving
had for the immigrantsand their
part of the Greekpolitywhile they simultaneously homeimplications
and host societies
remain embeddedin the nation-statesin which (Chaney1979). For exam-
ple, Gonzalez (1988: 10) notedthat manyGarifuna
they are settled.
have "become United States citizens, yet they
think of themselvesas membersof two (or more)
Evidenceof TransnationalProcesses societies."'12
Scholars such as Takaki (1989) and Pido
In the remainingsectionsof this articlewe examine (1986), writingaboutAsianimmigrantpopulations
some of the similaritiesthat emerge from such in the U.S., have been even more focusedon the
comparativestudy,illustratethemwith someof our problemsof immigrantintegration,assimilation,
own field studies,and examinethe implicationsof and belonging, than those writing about Latin
this anthropology of transnationalmigrationfor the Americanand Caribbeanimmigrants.Nonetheless,
debateon the meritsof immigration.A large body recentethnographicaccountscontainsomedescrip-
of ethnographicdata on transnationalimmigrant tions of immigrantsfrom the Philippines,China,
networkshas been producedby researcherswork- and Koreacontinuingto maintainties back home
ing in the Caribbeanand LatinAmerica.The rich- (Pido 1986;Wong 1982;Kim 1987).
54 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
QUARTERLY

Evidenceof transnationalpatternsof intercon- cial mobilityin contextsof vulnerabilityand subor-

nectioncan be found in descriptionsof migrations dination to world capitalismboth at home and
to the U.S. and WesternEuropefrommost regions abroad.
of the world.Some ethnographers workingwith re- Thesecollectivetransnational familystrategies
cent immigrantsin Italy, France, Holland, and also have importantimplicationsfor class produc-
Spainhaveoccasionallyobservedevidenceof trans- tion and reproduction at bothendsof the migration
national linkages (Eintziger 1985; Carter 1994; stream.They are helpfulin maintaining,and also
Neveu 1994; Jimenez Romero 1994). "Dollar" at times in enhancing,the social and economicpo-
houses recentlyhave been noted to transformthe sitionsof transmigrants' familiesin class structures
landscapeand inflatelocal land values in the Phil- at home where opportunitiesare often deteriorat-
ippines and India as well as in the Caribbean, ing. The Vincentianpeasant family of the Car-
Latin America,the Pacific,and Africa. However, ringtonsis an apt exampleof the need to deploy
evenwhenthey havedocumentedthe circulationof familymembersin severallocationsin orderto sur-
peopleand remittances(Ballard1987) or identified vive as a unit and retaina land base in St Vincent,
the growthof transnationalculturaldiasporas(Co- and the relativeadvantagethat comesfromsuch a
hen 1994; Hall 1990), a numberof scholarswork-
strategy.This familyownedtwo acres of land, the
ing in Europehaveyet to recognizethe significance produceof which the mothervendedin the local
of these interconnectionsfor studies in migration market.Householdmemberslivedin a simpleclap-
and culturalpolitics.A conceptof "transnational- boardhouseof two rooms,with no indoorplumbing
ism" wouldallow researchersto take into account or electricity.Two daughters,who could not find
the fact that immigrantslive their lives acrossna-
tional bordersand respondto the constraintsand employmentin St. Vincent'sstagnanteconomy,de-
demandsof two or more states. spite the country'srecent political independence,
migratedto the U.S. as domesticworkersto gain
incomethat could help supportfamilymembersin
A ComparativeEthnographyof Caribbeanand Saint Vincentand contributeto buildinga cement
Filipino Transnationalism block family home. Two brothers,who also could
not find work locally, migratedto Trinidadas a
skilled automobile mechanic and construction
Among the Caribbeanand Filipinotransmigrants
with whomwe worked,the processesof settlement worker.The wife of one of the brotherslaterjoined
fosteredthe developmentof transnationalism.As her husband'ssistersin New York, whereshe too
they settled in their new homes, members of these becamea live-indomesticworker.The motherre-
mained behindin St. Vincentto care for her son's
populationsdeveloped multiple social, economic,
and politicalties that extendedacrossborders.In- two small childrenand overseethe constructionof
corporationin the U.S. accompaniedand contrib- the family home. At variousmomentsone of the
uted to incorporationin the home society. Funda- brothers in Trinidad,whenhe was laid off fromhis
mental to these multiple networks of workin Trinidad,returnedto the family home in
interconnection are networksof kin who are based St. Vincent;it was loans from his sisters in New
in one or more households.Among all classes it York that enabledhim to returnto Trinidadwhen
takes some resourcesto migrateand, often, migra- employment opportunitiesthere increased.
tion and the establishmentof transnationalnet- A middle-classFilipinocouple, severedfrom
worksare strategiesto insure that a householdis the supportof their extendedfamily becauseof a
able to retainwhat it has in termsof resourcesand businessmisunderstanding, experienceddifficulties
social position.Flexible extendedfamily networks findingadequateemploymentand supportingtheir
have long been used in all these countriesto pro- children in school during the 1980s. Facing the
vide access to resources.By stretching,reconfigur- possibilityof a reducedclass position and social
ing, and activatingthese networksacross national status, they took a calculatedrisk and migrated
boundaries,familiesare able to maximizethe utili- (first the wife and then the husbandand children)
zation of labor and resourcesin multiplesettings to the U.S., eventhoughthey had to leavetwo chil-
and survivewithin situationsof economicuncer- drenbehindto finishschool.Followingtheirmigra-
tainty and subordination.These family networks, tion, child rearingdecisionshave been made by
acrosspoliticaland economicborders,providethe phoneand childrenhave movedbackand forthbe-
possibilityfor individualsurvivaland at times so- tweenschooland businessopportunities in different
 FROM IMMIGRANTTO TRANSMIGRANT
parts of the U.S. and the Philippines.After the
successfulweddingof their daughterto a Manila
dentist,which was financedby with dollarsearned
in the U.S., the familyis now buyingland to build
a housein the Philippines;it also is investingU.S.
savings in a small businessstartedby one of the
sons in Manila. The parentscontinueto live in a
small rentedapartmentin Queens.
Not everyonewithina familynetworkor even
withina householdmay benefitto the same degree
and tensionsaboundas men and women,those at
home and those abroad,define their interestsand
needs differently.'sFor example,a Haitiandoctor
living in Queensinvitedhis nieces from Haiti into
the household.His wife, who foundher doublebur-
den of work and houseworkcompoundedby the
presenceof her husband'skin, was bitteraboutthe
arrangement.Her anger was fueled by the fact
that she wanted room for her own siblings'chil-
dren.In poorerHaitianfamiliestransmigrantsfeel
crushedby "billshere and there,"while those left
at homefeel that they are not beingadequatelyre-
imbursedfor the family resourcesthey have in-
vested in sendingthe migrantabroad.Haitiansof
peasantbackgrounds,illiterateand with little ac-
cess to phonesin Haiti, have developeda rhetoric
in the form of songs sent throughaudio cassettes
within which tensionsand fissureswithin transna-
tional householdsand kin networksare communi-
cated (Richman1992a). Women,who often shoul-
der the responsibility for their children's
upbringing,face particularpressuresto sendmoney
back home. A study of Haitian remittancesfrom
New YorkCity to Haiti indicatedthat womensent
larger amounts of money than men did, with
women who "headed households"sending the
greatestamount(DeWind 1987).
Migrantshave also createdbusinessactivities
that build upon, and also foster, transnationalso-
cial relationships.Studentsof immigrationin the
U.S. have devoteda great deal of energyto the in-
vestigationof enclave economies,postulatingthat
densely settled immigrantsare able to generate
their own internal market for culturallyspecific
cuisines, products, and objects (Sassen-Koob
1985). However,it is possibleto view such com-
mercial transactionsas located within a transna-
tional space that spans national borders,rather
than as confinedto territoriallybased enclaves.
Sometimes the commercial interconnections
are surreptitiousor so small scale they are barely
visible. This is certainlytrue of the transnational
55
economicnetworksmaintainedby many Haitians
who use familyvisitsbetweenHaitiand the U.S. to
restock small stores and businessesin Haiti with
items brought into Haiti in personal luggage.
Whenshe comesfor periodicvisits to obtainmedi-
cal treatmentthroughU.S. Medicareto whichshe
is entitledafter long years of workin the U.S., as
well as throughvisits to relativesin Montreal,Yo-
landeand her husbandrestocktheirsmallgift shop
in Port-au-Prince.Immacula,visiting her sister,
bringsbleachand othersuppliesfor her sister'sfu-
neral parlor.Many mambosand houngon(priests
and priestesseswho lead Haitian voodoo gather-
ings) importritualobjectsfromHaiti for theircer-
emoniesin the U.S.
Often the most successfulmigrantbusinesses
arise in the very intersticescreatedby transnation-
alism-for example,shippingand air cargocompa-
nies, import-exportfirms, labor contractors,and
moneytransferhouses.At the same time the busi-
nessesfacilitatethe deepeningof transnationalso-
cial relations.A shippingcompanystartedby two
brothersfrom St. Vincentis such an undertaking.
Carl Hilaire,usingthe savingshe accruedfromhis
job as a bankclerkin New York,starteda business
shippingbarrelsof goodsbetweenmigrantsin New
York and their kin in St. Vincent.His brotherin
St. Vincent receivedand deliveredthe goods as
they arrivedin St. Vincent. The success of the
brothers'shippingcompanywas in part relatedto
their activeinvolvementsin socialserviceactivities
both in St. Vincentand the immigrantcommunity
in New York,whereeach was well known.
Despitethe wideuse madeof this companyby
transmigrantfamiliesand businessesin New York
and St. Vincent,the limitedcapitalavailablein the
eastern Caribbean immigrant community has
servedas a brakeon the growthof this company.
Employedprimarilyas clerksand juniorlevel ad-
ministratorsin service sector companies,Vincen-
tian immigrants,includingCarl,havelimitedfunds
availablefor investmentpurposes,and limitedcon-
nectionsto peoplewith capital,to enablethis busi-
ness to expandinto relatedactivitiesor to be ex-
tendedto other West Indianislands.
However,it is possiblefor businessesthat fa-
cilitate transnationalconnectionsto generatelarge
amountsof capital. When by 1987 annualremit-
tances to Haiti grew to an estimated to be
U.S.$99.5 milliona year fromthe New Yorkmet-
ropolitanarea, Citibankinvestigatedthe possibility
of competingwith the profitableHaitian money
56 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
QUARTERLY
transferbusinessesthat had developedin the U.S.
(DeWind1987). Becauseof their largerpopulation
size and resourcebase, Filipinoshave been able to
develop large scale transmigrantbusinesseswith
multiplebranchesacrossnationalbordersby using
the intersticescreatedby the ongoingtransnational
lives of the new immigrants.For example,starting
with the sale of rice and vegetables to Filipino
nurses from a small delivery truck as a second
source of income, a Filipino accountantprogres-
sivelygraduatedto the bulk air shipmentof trans-
migrants'balikbayan("homecomers")boxes. Ten
years later he had offices in New York, Manila,
and six other Philippinecities, a fleet of some 100
couriers picking up and deliveringthe packages
door to door,and a specialagreementwith certain
airlines.The once part-timebusinesshas becomea
largeinvestmentand a full time occupationfor him
and other membersof his family. The growthof
these businessesis a testimonyto multipleties that
extendbetweenhome and host countries.
Transnationalpracticesextend beyondhouse-
hold and family networksto includeorganizations
that link the homecountrywith one or moresocie-
ties in which its populationhas settled. Immigrant
"voluntaryassociations"haveoften been studiedas
institutionsthat assist in the adaptationof new-
comersto a new location (Mangin 1965). On the
otherhand,researcherswho have lookedfor expla-
nationsfor culturalpersistencein the midst of as-
similativepressureshave argued that immigrants
build organizationsto preservetheir practicesand
values,even as they assist in adaptation(Jenkinset
al. 1985). Social programsorientedtowardsthe in-
corporationof immigrantsinto their new society
often use these organizationsas cultural brokers.
Most recentlyin the U.S. immigrantorganizations
havebeenseen as representatives of ethniccommu-
nities that contributeto a nation'sculturaldiver-
sity. None of these approacheshas examinedthe
contribution these organizations make to the
growthof social and politicalspaces and cultural
practicesthat go beyondthe boundariesof the na-
tion-state.Also not exploredby scholarsor policy
makersare the implicationsof transnationalorga-
nizationalconnectionsfor programmaticeffortsto
use immigrantorganizationsas agentsof the social
and politicalincorporationof immigrantsinto the
receivingsociety.
Each of the four immigrantpopulationswith
whichwe workedhad developedorganizationsthat
builda densenetworkof transnationalinterconnec-
tions.They organizednot just nostalgicimaginings
of the home countrybut active relationshipswith
it. These organizationalactivitiesprovideda base
upon which leaderswere able to validateor build
social and political capital in both societies.
Vincentiansand Grenadians,givena migrationhis-
tory to the U.S. that spans the twentiethcentury,
and confrontingracialbarriersbothin the past and
presentthat preventedtheir full incorporation into
the social and politicallife of the nation,have a
long history of using organizationsto maintain
transnationalinterconnections (Basch 1992; Basch
et al. 1994;Toney 1986)." The increasingtransna-
tionalactivitiesof Vincentianand Grenadianorga-
nizationsfollowing1970demonstratethe important
impact self-ruleand politicalindependencein the
West Indies.combinedwith greatlyexpandedemi-
grationto the U.S., have had on the organizingof
a multi-strandedtransnationalsocial field."1
Filipinotransmigrantshave built a dense net-
work of linkages with hundredsof organizations
that stage religious,cultural,and social events in
the Philippinesas well as in the U.S. Fiestas, for
example,in townsin the Philippineshave takenon
a grandscale with the participationof Filipinoor-
ganizationsin the U.S. Some of the organizations
havedevelopednew formsof Filipinonationaliden-
tity and political action and have mediatedrela-
tionshipsbetweenthe U.S. and Philippinesgovern-
ments (Basch et al. 1994).
A surveyof the leadersof Haitianorganiza-
tions in New YorkCity begunduringthe Duvalier
dictatorshipindicatedthe range of organizational
linkages that can grow up, even in a situation
wheretransnationalorganizationsare viewedwith
suspicionor activelyoppressedin the home coun-
try.16Not all Haitian organizationsin New York
were transnationalbut more than forty percent
were engagedin activitiesorientedat least in part
to Haiti and sixty percentsaw someof theiractivi-
ties in some way contributingto Haiti. The range
of organizationsthat operatedin a transnational
social field included Protestant and Catholic
churches,alumnaeorganizationsfromvarioushigh
schools, hometownassociations,Masonic lodges,
culturalassociations,17and organizationsthat saw
themselvesas a voiceof the "Haitiancommunityin
New York."These organizationssaw their mem-
bersas neithersolelypartof the U.S. nor Haiti but
ratheras connectedsimultaneouslyto both socie-
ties. To educate Haitian youth in the U.S. would
both contributeto their successas Americansand
 FROM IMMIGRANTTO TRANSMIGRANT
assist in the transformationof Haiti. After the fall
of the Duvalierregimemanyof these organizations
workedto developorganizationalbases in Haiti.
Transmigrantshave been partisansand par-
ticipantsin strugglesagainstdictatorshipsin Haiti,
the Philippines,and Grenada and have charged
their respectivegovernmentsto be responsiblefor
making democracywork. Throughorganizations,
as well as on the basisof personaltransnationalre-
lationships,transmigrantshave been able to play a
role in politicalarenasin both the U.S. and their
homecountries.Key membersof the anti-Duvalier
movementin the U.S. returnedto Haiti in the
1980s and built supportfor politicaland social re-
form froma base both in Haiti and in the U.S. In
the yearsbetweenthe fall of the Duvalierregimein
1986 and the election of Aristide in 1990, candi-
dates for the Haitian legislatureand Presidency
campaignedin the U.S., Canada,and Haiti. Sev-
eral were long-timeresidentsof the U.S. Taking
the stance that they share a single destiny, Hai-
tians demonstratedin New York, Washington,
Miami, Boston, Montreal,and Port-au-Princeto
demandpoliticalchangein Haiti, to protestthe la-
belingof Haitiansas carriersof AIDS, and for the
reinstatementof Aristideas Presidentof Haiti.
Vincentianand Grenadianimmigrants,have
workedclosely with, and sometimesas representa-
tives of, their homegovernmentsto obtainU.S. ec-
onomic support.Grenadiantransmigrants,for ex-
ample, lobbiedthe U.S. governmentfor economic
assistancepromisedbut never deliveredafter the
U.S. invasion of their country and expected
throughthe CaribbeanBasin Initiative.Active in
efforts to develop agriculturaland industrialex-
ports from their home countries,Grenadianand
Vincentianmigrantshave built organizationsthat
haveworkedcloselywith theirhomecountries'con-
sulates in New York to obtain more favorable
termsof tradefor Caribbeanagriculturaland man-
ufacturedproductsbeing importedinto the U.S.
They also have been part of effortsto obtainmore
lenientimmigrationquotas.
Filipinotransmigrantswere a majorforce in
developingoppositionto the Marcosgovernmentin
the wake of deterioratingeconomicconditionsat
home and in ensuring U.S. support in toppling
Marcos.Throughtransmigrantorganizing,discus-
sion groups,speeches,and media exposure,a new
form of nationalism was created and fostered
amongtransmigrantsin the U.S. underthe leader-
ship of opponentsto the Marcosgovernment.This
57
movementtook off after the Aquinoassassination.
It lobbiedfor a new governmentand a renewalof
democracyin the Philippinesand obtainedthe col-
laborationof key U.S. Senatorsand Representa-
tives. Popularoutrage in both the U.S. and the
Philippinesat Marcos'manipulationof the Philip-
pine nationalelections,confirmedby the personal
observationsof top U.S. politicians,and accompa-
nied by the intenselobbyingof transmigrants, ulti-
matelyforcedthe Reagangovernmentto changeits
policiestowardsMarcosand to help overthrowthe
Marcos regime.The personnelof the Filipinore-
gimes that have followed,beginningwith that of
CoryAquino,havebeenfilledwithpoliticalplayers
whosepersonaland politicalnetworkslink them to
both the U.S. and the Philippines.In the 1980sand
1990s increasedFilipinoeffortsto lobby the U.S.
Congressfor assistancefor the Philippinesreflecta
political terrain of dense transnational
interconnection.
These activitieshave all been spearheadedby
immigrantleaders in the U.S., acting in concert
with political actors in their home nation-states.
LamuelStanislaus,an informalleaderin the West
Indianimmigrantcommunityin Brooklyn,is an ex-
ample of how immigrantsare able to participate
in-and have an impacton-political strugglesin
both Grenadaand the U.S. A dentistto the West
Indian and African American populations in
Brooklyn,StanislausemigratedfromGrenadaover
forty-fiveyearsago to studyat HowardUniversity.
In the mid-1980she becamea key organizerof a
supportgroup comprisedof West Indian immi-
grantsin New York to re-electMayorKoch.The
membersof this organizationfelt that the then-
mayorwas cognizantof and wouldbe responsiveto
West Indianinterestsin New York.Stanislaushad
takenpartin severalmeetingswith Koch,at which
he lobbiedfor West Indianinterests.At the same
time Stanislaus, who during the last years of
Bishop'sgovernmenthad been vocal in his opposi-
tion to what he consideredto be that government's
antidemocraticpractices,headeda supportgroup
of Grenadians,locatedbothin New Yorkand Gre-
nada, to elect a successorto MauriceBishop,after
Bishopwas murderedand the U.S. invadedGre-
nada. When Stanislaus' candidate was elected
primeministerof Grenada,Stanislaushimselfwas
appointedGrenada'sambassadorto the United
Nations, althoughhe had not visited Grenadain
over forty years.
As we see fromthese examples,the abilityof
58 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
QUARTERLY

these transmigrantsto wield politicalinfluencein This extensionof the bordersof the nation-
both the U.S. and their home nation-statesderives state to includetransmigrantpopulationslong set-
from their politicalincorporationin both settings. tled and often legally citizens of other countries
Grassrootsorganizinglinked to new social move- was highlightedby the politicaldiscourseof Presi-
mentsas well as electoralpoliticstake place in the dent Aristideof Haiti. In 1991 he designatedthe
emergingtransnationalpoliticalarenas.While the Haitian diasporaDizyem-na, the Tenth Depart-
dominantpolitical ethic of the U.S. continuesto ment of Haiti. Haiti has nine territorialdivisions
demandthat citizens,both nativebornand natural- called departments. By including Haitians in
ized, swear allegianceonly to the U.S. and define whatevercountrythey have settled as part of the
their politicalidentitywithinits borders,the trans- Haitiannation-stateAristidecontributedto a new
nationalismof increasingnumbersof its citizens constructionof the postcolonialnation-state.In this
promotesnew politicalconstructionsin labor-send- constructionof Haiti as a borderlessstate, Haitian
ing states. Facing situationsof extremeeconomic territorybecomes a social space that may exist
impoverishmentand dependency,Caribbeanlead- withinthe legal boundariesof manynation-states.8"
ers are developingconstructionsof their nation- Haiti now exists whereverin the world Haitians
states that encompassthoseresidingabroadas part had settled. Speakingof the "bank of the dias-
of theirbodypolitic.Theseconstructions,whichwe pora,"he offeredthe model of JewishZionismas
have labeled "deterritorialized nation-states" evidence of the productivityof this strategy in
(Basch et al. 1994) define state boundariesin so- which, in the Haitian reading,the diasporastays
cial rather than geographicterms. Accordingto abroadbut providesmoneyand politicalassistance
this readingof the nation-state,the bordersof the to the "home"country(Richman1992b).1'
state spreadgloballyto encompassall migrantsand Aristide'sconstructionof the Tenth Depart-
their descendantswhereverthey may settle and ment recognized,accepted,and made use of the
whateverlegal citizenshipthey may have attained. multiple embeddednessof the Haitian trans-
Bishop,the primeministerof Grenadaduring migrantsand theirparticipationin the politicallife
the early 1980s,reflectingthe perspectiveof several of the U.S. Haitian transnationalismwas more
West Indianpoliticalleaders,underscoredthe im- thanlegitimized:it was nationalized.By nationaliz-
portance of the immigrants to Grenada's nation ing transmigrants,Aristidemade Haitiantransna-
building by referringto Brooklynas "Grenada's tionalisma politicalforcethat mustbe figuredinto
largest constituency."To assure that the immi- the relationshipbetweenHaiti and the other na-
grantsremainconnectedand committedto projects tion-statesin whichHaitianshavesettled.By theo-
at homebothideologicallyand financially,scoresof rizing a deterritorializednation, leaders such as
West Indianpoliticalleadersvisit their "constitu- Aristideare definingvoting, lobbying,runningfor
encies" in the diasporato describetheir develop- office,demonstrating, buildingpublicopinion,send-
ment initiatives.In so doingthey enmeshthe trans- ing remittances,and maintainingother transna-
migrantsin the nation-statebuildingprocessesof tional activitiescarriedout in the U.S. as acts of
West Indiannation-states. citizenshipand expressionsof loyalty to another
As early as 1973 Philippines President country.
Marcos,and subsequentlyhis successors,developed U.S. hegemonicforces, on the other hand,
a programfor balikbayan("homecomers") and be- have reactedto the growingcommitmentof trans-
gan to use the termto referto Filipinocitizensand migrantsto participatein the politicalprocessesof
non-citizens residing overseas. They encouraged both the U.S. and the "homesociety"by renewed
migrantsto visit home throughvisa and travelfa- incorporativeefforts.They have insisted that the
cilitationand allowed for large shipmentsof per- bottom line loyalties of Caribbean immigrants
sonal effects that ultimatelyfed transnationalim- must be to the U.S. Interviewsconductedin 1986
port-exportbusinesses and they levied taxes on with representativesof fifty-one philanthropies,
incomesearnedabroad.Governmentofficialscalled churches,and state agencieswho workedwith Hai-
upon Filipinotransmigrantsto fund development tian immigrantorganizationsmadethis clear.Rep-
projects in the Philippinesand to lobby for in- resentativesof U.S. organizationswere explicitin
creased U.S. aid. Filipinosenatorsand congress- their insistencethat Haitian immigrantsbecome
men came to the U.S. to campaignfor elected of- U.S. citizensand give up their allegianceto Haiti.
fice in the Philippines. Both implicitlythroughthe money,technicalassis-
 FROM IMMIGRANT TO TRANSMIGRANT
tance, and political connections they provided to or-
ganizations, and explicitly in the course of meet-
ings and conversations with Haitian leaders, these
representative sent a consistent message. It was
summarized by a representative of the Community
Service Society, a large philanthropic organization:
"I have problems with dual citizenship; I believe in
allegiance to one country."
Implications of Transnationalism for the Debate
on Immigration
The paradox of our times, and one that must be
central to our understanding of the identities and
dilemmas of current day immigrants is that the
"age of transnationalism" is a time of continuing
and even heightening nation-state building
processes. In the current heightening of nationalist
sentiment in a globalized economy, transnational
migration is playing a complex, significant, yet lit-
tle noted role (Miles 1993). It lies as a silent sub-
text that contributes to the actions, motivations,
and sensibilities of key players within the political
processes and debates of both states that have his-
tories of population dispersal and states that have
primarily been and continue to be recipients of
population flows. In the U.S. the debates on both
immigration and multiculturalism need to be ana-
lyzed in relationship to the efforts by dominant
forces to reconstruct national consensus and legiti-
mate state structures at the same time that they
globalize the national economy. The 1994 passage
of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs
and California's Proposition 187 that denies vital
services to undocumented immigrants are a
matched set of policy initiatives. As the national
economy is restructured to facilitate higher levels
of profit for transnational capital, politicians and
the media have projected a bunker mentality, con-
vincing the majority of the population, including
people who are themselves immigrants that the na-
tional borders have to be defended against the un-
documented. Undocumented workers are said to be
the cause of the deterioration of the infrastructure
and the lack of public services.
The strategy of U.S. hegemonic forces forming
a national consensus by depicting immigrants as an
enemies of the nation is not new. However, the par-
NOTES
'The Filipino immigrants also did not raise the issue of
transnationalism. Even while they continue to build their trans-
national practices and networks, immigrants, very often influ-
59
ticular focus on the undocumented is worth exam-
ining for several reasons. Certainly the continuing
ability of the nation-state to punish violations of
law should not be dismissed in debates about the
demise of the nation-state. In the realm of the
withdrawal of rights to health, education, and
peace of mind, the U.S. nation-state is clearly able
to enforce a distinction between categories of be-
longing. However, it should be noted that the polit-
ical rhetoric and policies such as Proposition 187
delineate legal residents and the undocumented,
rather than native born and foreign or citizen and
non-citizen. Similarly, the special Federal Commis-
sion on Immigration Reform chaired by former
U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan does not advo-
cate halting immigration but does propose restrict-
ing undocumented immigration.
This particular emphasis on categories of le-
gality has a dual thrust. The debate is as much
about confining immigrant loyalties to the U.S. as
it is about reducing the flow of immigration. Of
course, the current national public discussion about
immigration certainly contributes to a broader
anti-immigrant hysteria that has racist underpin-
nings, with all immigrants of color finding their
presence and activities under increased scrutiny.
Concepts of "America, the white" are reinforced.
Yet at the same time, documented immigrants are
being drawn into the debate on the side of enforce-
ment, validating their right to belong but differenti-
ating themselves from other immigrants. There is a
dialectic between inclusion and exclusion that disci-
plines transnational migrants by focusing public at-
tention on the degree to which they belong in the
U.S. The current debate on immigrants in U.S. will
lead not to the effective policing of national borders
but to the reinscription of boundaries. It serves to
counter transnational identities and loyalties and
creates a terrain in which immigrants are drawn
into defending whatever they have achieved or ob-
tained by defending it against the undocumented.
They are therefore drawn into a discourse of iden-
tity that links them to the U.S. nation state as a
bounded structure of laws and institutions as well
as a defended territory. Yet none of the nation-
building processes encompasses fully the complex-
ity and multiple identities which constitute the lives
of transmigrants.
enced by the concept of "the immigrant" as uprooted, believe
that they must make a choice between their new country and
their homeland. Interactions such as these with the census or-
60 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
QUARTERLY
ganizersreinforcetheir belief that U.S. society wants them to
be loyal to only the U.S., so that they do not describeother
aspectsof their experiences.
2"Transnational" appearsin the titles of books, disserta-
tions, conferences,and journals(AmericanAcademyof Politi-
cal and Social Science 1986; Georges 1990; Richman 1992a;
Rouse 1989;Wakeman1988). Diasporais "a journalof trans-
nationalstudies,"Public Culturehas as its subtitle the "Soci-
ety for TransnationalStudies,"and the statementof purposeof
Identitiesspeaks of "transnationalmovementsof population."
In 1993 transnationalconnectionsbecame a theme of the an-
nual meetingsof the AmericanEthnologicalSociety, while the
Society for CulturalAnthropologycalled for workon "transna-
tionalculture."The 1994 meetingsof the AmericanAnthropo-
logical Society contained seven sessions devoted to transna-
tional studies.
3Sutton and Mackiesky-Barrow(1992[1975]: 114) were
among the first to speak of a "transnationalsocioculturaland
politicalsystem"in which "politicaleventsat home ... had an
impacton the migrantcommunitiesabroadwhile migrantex-
perienceswere relayedin the oppositedirection."Researchers
workingwith immigrantswhose lives defy, sometimeson daily
terms, the legal constraintsof the Mexican and U.S. border,
beganto talk of "transnationalcircuits"(Rouse 1989, 1991) or
"transnationalcommunities"(Kearney1992; Rouse n.d.). Ap-
padurai(1990, 1991) and Gupta (1992), notingthe rapidflow
of ideas and objectsas well as people,began to reimaginethe
globe as havingenteredan era of transnationalism,a position
also expressedby Rouse and Kearney.In 1989, respondingto
our call to develop a transnationalperspectiveon migration,
seven scholarsexaminedthe ramificationsof transnationalmi-
gration to the U.S. from Asia, the Caribbean,Mexico, and
Portugal,at a conferenceat the New York Academyof Sci-
ences (see Charles, Feldman-Bianco,Lessinger,Ong, Rouse,
Richman,and Wiltshirein Glick Schiller et al. 1992b).
4Thisstatementreflectsa tendencyfoundin manyscholars
influencedby postmodernismto imaginea past of unchanging
and tightly boundedcultures.
5Appadurai(1993) has made a similar point but does not
includemilitaryand police functions.
6Gilroy (1987) has examinedthe responseof black immi-
grant youth in Britainfrom a similar perspective.
7See Chock (forthcoming)for a critique of the way in
which texts such as the Harvard Encyclopediaof American
Ethnic Groupsshapednarrativesof immigrantsettlementand
identity.
8The intensityof earlier drives to assimilate immigrants
may actually have been a reactionto the fact that immigrants
of earliergenerationsalso tended to maintaintheir home ties.
Certainlythere are glimpses in the historicalrecordof large
scale returnmigrationto Italy (Portesand Rumbaut1990) and
of political movementsin Europe, including many national
strugglesthat were transnationalin their composition(Higham
and Brooks1978).
9Bolsheviksincluding Trotsky wrote for the immigrant
pressin New Yorkand then returnedto Russiain the courseof
the revolutionto build newspapersin the Soviet Union.
1OTheycontributed to the reconceptualizationof the
Greek-speakingpopulationfrom a religiousmillet composedof
co-religionistswithin the OttomanEmpireto a nation with a
sharednationalculture and its own state.
"The term "West Indies"is used to describethose coun-
tries formedfromthe Caribbeanterritoriesunderthe controlof
the Britishduringthe colonialperiod.The term "Caribbean"
has a broaderconnotation,referringto all islandstates lying in
the CaribbeanSea as well as states along the northernrim of
South America(See Basch 1987, 1992).
12Further work on Garifuna networksthat interconnect
populationsin multiplenationstates has beendoneby Macklin
(1992). Macklinidentifieda patternin which immigrantnet-
worksspanso manycountriesthat migrantsdevelopan identity
which in some ways is independentof any particularnational
territoryor history.
13SSeePessar 1991 for an explicationof this theme.
"These interconnections, whichwere apparentin the early
1980s, led Basch to design a study to explorethe extent and
ramificationsof these connections.This researchwas conducted
underthe auspicesof the United Nations Institutefor Training
and Researchand was fundedby the United Nations Fundfor
PopulationActivities and the InternationalDevelopmentRe-
search Centre (Ottawa, Canada). Rosina Wiltshire,Winston
Wiltshire,and Joyce Toney were researchcollaboratorswith
Basch;their efforts were greatly aided by the researchassis-
tance of Colin Robinson,Isa Soto, and MargaretSouza.
"1Theimmigrationlegislationof 1965, and the social and
economicrelationsbetweenthe United States and the Carib-
bean that framedits enactment,greatlyliberalizedrestrictions
of West Indian immigrationthat had been in force since the
1920s.This historicmoment(1965 to 1970) was a watershedin
the expansionof the West Indian population,of West Indian
social, political,and economicactivities,and of increasingas-
sertionsof a publicWest Indianidentityin New York.Trans-
national organizationsplayed an importantrole in fostering
these intertwiningdevelopments.
16The survey, as well as a survey of U.S. organizations
that providedsupportto Haitianethnicorganizingwas funded
by a grant from the National Institutefor Child Health and
Human Development(#281-40-1145) to Josh DeWind and
Nina Glick Schiller. It was developedand administeredby a
research team that included Marie Lucie Brutus, Carolle
Charles,George Fouron,and Antoine Luis Thomas.For a re-
port on some of the findings, see Glick Schiller et al.
1992[1987].
17"Inher researchwith Filipinoorganizationsin New York
City Szanton-Blancfounda similarrangeof organizationswith
transnationalconnections.
1"GeorgeAnglade had previouslyused the term in his
writingsbut Aristidepopularizedit. The conceptof the Tenth
Departmentstrucka resonantnote amonga numberof middle-
class Haitian immigrantsand aspiringpoliticalleadersin the
U.S., and they proceededto hold a seriesof meetingsto organ-
ize the mannerin whichthey wouldassist Haiti and to choose
officialrepresentativesof the Tenth Department.
'1Aristidealso waged a campaign to insure that when
transmigrantscame home to visit and spendtheir money,they
felt welcome. In the past personsin the diasporawere often
devalued as unauthenticopportunistswho had jumped ship.
"Diaspora"became a somewhatpejorativeterm. In contrast,
Aristidecalled on the Haitianpopulationto welcomethe trans-
migrantswho shouldreturnto Haiti not to settle but as "good
homegrownKreyoltourists"(bonjan pitit kay touris Kreyol)
and to see them not as a threat but a sourceof assistancefor
the strugglesof the Haitian people (Richman 1992).
 FROM IMMIGRANTTO TRANSMIGRANT 61

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