Race, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America

Chapter 16. Placing Transnational Migration: The Sociospatial Networks of Bolivians in the United States

C Ch ha ap pt te er r 1 16 6 Placing Transnational Migration: The Sociospatial Networks of Bolivians in the United States MARIE D. PRICE IMMIGRATION, GLOBALIZATION, AND PLACE One of the less appreciated consequences of globalization has been the increase in economic migrants, especially the movements of international laborers. As global capitalism recreates economic space, it inevitably triggers labor movements (both domestic and international). The United Nations Population Division estimated that 185 million people lived outside their country of birth for at least 12 months in 2000, or roughly 2 percent of the world’s population. One in six of these people are found in the United States, the county that in absolute terms attracts more immigrants than any other. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 31 million foreign-born individuals , which equaled 11 percent of the U.S. population. Immigrants, both legal and undocumented, continue to settle in the United States. The most recent Census Bureau figures in 2004 estimated that 36 million foreignborn resided in the U.S., representing over 12 percent of the total population. The narrative of the immigrant nation is a well-developed theme in United States, and interest in immigration seems to grow with the intensity of the immigrant flows themselves. The booming economy of the 1990s witnessed a parallel surge in immigration to the U.S, comparable to the great wave of immigration at the turn of the 20th century. The major difference between these two great immigrant waves is the composition of the foreign -born by region of birth. In 2000, over half of the foreign-born (52%) were from Latin America; one-quarter of the foreign-born (26%) were from Asia. By contrast, Europeans accounted for just 16 percent of the foreignborn population in Census 2000. Given the large number of recent immigrants, and their racial and ethnic diversity, it is nearly impossible to discuss race and ethnicity in the U.S. without addressing the impact of immigrants. Perhaps the most dramatic demographic shift is the increase of Hispanics, now the largest minority group in the United States. A recent U.S. Census Bureau report estimated that there were over 41 million Hispanics (both native-born and foreign-born) in 2004, which is approximately 14 percent of the total U.S. population. Well over half of all Hispanics are of Mexican ancestry but there are significant numbers of Hispanics with ancestry in the Caribbean (Cuba and the Dominican Republic), Central America and South America. This chapter will focus on a small and relatively new group of Hispanic immigrants from the Andean country of Bolivia. By studying a small group that is concentrated in a few cities, it is possible to document how a new immigrant community gains a foothold in the United States, and how it maintains connections with its place of origin. This case study is based on an analysis of census data, government documents, newspaper accounts , and interviews with Bolivians in both the United States and Bolivia. Through the Bolivian experience, the importance of transnational linkages between sending and receiving communities is revealed, even when actual travel between countries can be limited (commonly due to the expense of travel or problems with legal status). The case study also demonstrates the importance of place, both real and remembered, in the everyday practices and experiences of Bolivian immigrants. 210 Marie D. Price Before turning to the Bolivian example, I want to highlight two biases perpetuated in the migration literature that undervalue both place and scale. First is the tendency to focus on immigration (and receiving countries) rather than emigration (and sending countries). One’s perception of migration changes sharply when viewed from the economic periphery in countries such as Bolivia. Today, emigration is often a response to social and economic crises brought about by structural adjustment policies and neo-liberalism, political upheaval, demographic growth, and the accelerated integration of developing economies into global markets. Throughout Latin America, individuals , households and communities are responding to these changes by considering themselves part of an international (if not global) workforce. As one former Bolivian migrant told me “we send workers everywhere, not just to the U.S. and Argentina. In this village there are pioneers who have moved to Israel, Japan, Spain and Germany to find work. If they find it, others follow.” Thus, it is vital to understand migration as a dynamic system that impacts sending and receiving communities in different ways. Secondly, immigration scholars rely on the nation-state as...