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Unwelcomed Immigrants: Experiences With Immigration Officials and Attachment to the United States

NCJ Number
235848
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 27 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2011 Pages: 299-321
Author(s)
Elizabeth Aranda; Elizabeth Vaquera
Date Published
August 2011
Length
23 pages
Annotation
In this article, the authors argue that efforts at increased immigration control have consequences for immigrants' affective attachments to the United States.
Abstract
Based on data from the Immigrant Transnationalism and Modes of Incorporation (ITMI) Survey that was administered to a random sample of South Florida immigrants (N = 1,268), the authors examine qualitatively and quantitatively how immigrants' negative experiences in the United States with immigration officials, at the point of entry and during their residency in the country, impact their affective attachments to the United States. Examining the effects of negative experiences with immigration officials, both isolated incidents and patterns of treatment, reveals that immigrants with negative experiences are less attached to the United States. The authors suggest that how immigrants are treated in their countries of destination is likely to affect their approaches to other government officials and more broadly, their patterns of incorporation into U.S. society. (Published Abstract)