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l 87 After arriving with a tourist visa in San Francisco, Carlos, who was from a city in Guanajuato, was able to find a job in a Mexican restaurant washing dishes. Upon arrival he stayed with his brother, who was married and had two kids. After a month of staying at his brother’s place Carlos began to have problems because his sister-in-law complained of the lack of privacy she experienced with Carlos’ presence at their house. She also complained about the extra burden of having to cook for Carlos, make him lunch early in the mornings, spend more money on food, and so forth. Carlos was then told by his brother that he had to find another place to stay because he no longer could stay at their house. Carlos’ friends at work said, “Don’t worry, come over to our house and we will get you all taken care of.” Carlos moved to a house that was shared by three paisanos from the same village near Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. At the time of the interview with him, we got together at the house of these paisanos from Guerrero. He had already been living with them for three years and I was able to meet them. They all acted as if they were all family and demonstrated a huge affection for Carlos. Carlos told me during the interview that the best thing that had happened to him was to find these three paisanos who offered him their home and support as a new arrival. He stated, “I felt so fortunate of being able to get to meet them and learn from them how to help others without expecting anything in return. We became best friends with time, and since I am living with them I have felt like living at home, not like I felt while living with my brother and his wife, like an arrimado [a stranger]. I also got to know all the other people who live here in San Francisco and who are from their same rural village. They are always very good to me and have supported me as if I was also part of their family. I feel very blessed to have gotten to know them.” The story of Carlos exemplifies orphan urban migrants who have experienced tie fragmentation from family ties once in the United States as a result of their family members not belonging to an MTN. I will describe in Expanding Networks chapter four 88 m Chapter Four this chapter how MTNs can expand and absorbe orphan migrants through the process I call “the MTN effect,” as well as how other outsiders may also be absorbed into MTNs, which are characterized by a clique-like network structure. The network structure of the Migration-Trust Network can be compared to that of a clique-like network, or a peer group. The clique-like networks are composed of three or more individuals who maintain strong ties with each other, interact often, and most importantly, support each other collectively . In the transnational context, individuals who belong to MTNs do not necessarily have to live or be in the same geographical area. For example, participants of this network can include: (1) migrants at the place of destination ; (2) nonmigrants at the place of origin; and (3) returning migrants at the place of origin. The MTN may also extend to more than one place of destination or more than one place of origin. The MTN participants maintain their relationships at the transnational level via telephone calls, text messages , letters, and more recently, the Internet. Blogs, community websites, and online networking tools such as Skype, MSN messenger, and Facebook are very accommodating. Those who have legal documents visit family and friends whenever possible, while others mail packages or send gifts back home with other travelers. Among nonmigrants, those who already belong to peer groups at the place of origin are more likely to engage in MTNs, given the social cohesion within the peer groups. Most of the members of an MTN respect a series of norms and expectations imposed by the other members. Therefore, social surveillance takes place at both the place of origin and destination. The MTN is structured to benefit everyone, and they judge selfishness through social rejection. The sending of individual remittances and/or collective remittances exemplifies a relationship of trust and fellowship at the transnational level. Outside the sphere of international migration, it is usually very dif...

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