Mexican New York : transnational lives of new immigrants /

Once thought of as two separate phenomena, migration and assimilation have become increasingly intertwined in the new research on migration. This book is a wonderful example of how productive this intellectual endeavor is. Courtney Smith (Baruch College) follows immigrants from a small Mexican town to New York and splendidly shows how "studying both migration and assimilation helps explain why and how Ticuanense migrants and their children remain attached to Ticuani," constructing for themselves a "transnational life." The author shows this complex attachment in three areas: politics in the first generation, gender relations in the first and second generations, and the assimilation experience of teenage students and gang members. Avoiding a trap common to these types of studies, the author doesn't paint a rosy picture of the community he studies, but shows how such a transnational life, while generally having very positive outcomes for its practitioners, can also be the origin of very problematic practices, such as the transnationalization of gang members. Another strong point is Courtney Smith's assertion that "being more transnational does not necessarily mean being less assimilated." He offers empirical support for his counterintuitive argument that "transnational life in fact has great potential to facilitate positive assimilation in the United States." ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries. P. Vila Temple University