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The day labor market in New York City is growing fast partly due to the number of immigrants who are eager to work, but who lack official documentation. Employing ethnographic research methods, this paper provides a description of a group of men working as day laborers at a casual work site in Brooklyn, New York City, with whom I’ve been visiting since late August 2001. The participants are diverse across various characteristics, in particular nationality, race, and ethnicity. This paper attempts to advance our understanding of the incorporation of new immigrants into American society, by considering the factors shaping these processes and the effects on American culture. There is a focus on the interactions between the different groups working at this intersection and also a discussion of the effects on opportunities for employment and social mobility influenced by social positions of nationality, ethnicity, race, gender and age. And in a multicultural setting of a Brooklyn street corner, this paper explores an important social action that occurs between the diverse actors that is meaningful. The overall project explores how and why these men, of whom many are undocumented, seek employment in the informal economy. This paper enables an analysis of the situations, beyond employment, as they are informed by positions of nationality, race, and ethnicity. At a time when the politics of immigration is active in policy agenda, this paper offers a dynamic sociological exploration of immigration, labor, identity, and culture in the social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on 60 in-depth interviews with working- and middle-class Korean American men and women in New York City, this paper examines some of the attitudes and feelings some second-generation immigrants have about who they want to date and marry. The study uses a comparative framework and explores the impact of class and gender on the respondents? dating preferences, challenging the assumption of Asian American homogeneity. The analysis reveals that middle-class Korean Americans, who have more opportunities to meet and forge relationships one another, prefer to date and marry co-ethnics. By contrast, their working-class counterparts, who interact more with non-co-ethnics, prefer to date non-co-ethnics. However, gender complicates this class-pattern. Negative stereotypes of Asian American men drive more women to date non-Asian partners. On the other hand, the men feel they have fewer partner constraints, consequently leading them to date Asians, revealing that racial, gender, and cultural norms play a significant role in constructing the intimate relationships among Asian Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study intends to examine the two radically different ways that Indian Hindu and Korean Protestant immigrants in New York maintain ethnicity through religion using ethnographic and personal interview data. Gordon (1964: 38) and other researchers (Kim and Hurh 1984: 78-82; Reitz 1980; Yinger 1994, pp.3-4) have used ethnicity or ethnic attachment to indicate the following three interrelated ethnic phenomena: retention of ethnic subculture (cultural), involvement in ethnic networks and interaction (social), and group self-identification (psychological). Following this commonly used definition of ethnicity, this paper will examine how and to what extent participation in religious institutions and practice of religious rituals at home contribute to one or more of the three components of ethnicity for Indian Hindu and Korean Protestant immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I explore how aging and discourses of aging influence how immigrants forge livelihoods in transnational contexts and how they contribute to and shape belonging. I explore these themes through a close examination of the experiences of a group of Dominican immigrants. This case study is exploratory and it may be seen as a foundation for further investigations of these themes based on more systematic data collection from a range of national origin groups [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a gender-based and symbolic interactionist understanding of how self-presentation and credibility were crucial aspects of how some activists, health care advocates and service providers negotiated HIV/AIDS knowledge and policy in New York City and Calcutta in the 1990's. Using communication as a unit of analysis and paying particular attention to the social structure of, and affiliations within, the knowledge producing webs amongst these groups of people, the author examines how immigrants and sex workers in these two cities strategically presented and interpreted gender and credibility to mobilize for better access to services. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the primary justifications for collecting racial statistics is the need to monitor racial inequalities and discrimination. However, research increasingly shows a divergence between the internal and observed components of race for many of the groups that are most likely to experience discrimination. The shift of the U.S. Census from interviewer-enumeration to self-completion in the last few decades has therefore moved race data away from this primary monitoring function. This paper uses qualitative interviews with Dominican and Puerto Rican migrants in New York to illustrate discrepancies between the distinct components of race and how Census statistics fail to measure the social mechanisms associated with discrimination. Several recommendations are made for ways to improve the measurement of race to better fulfill its purpose of monitoring racial inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

32nd street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, Korea town is one of the ethnic enclaves where younger Koreans are frequently seen. This is a space where a non western culture is embedded in a western urban context and has a measurable impact on the form of the urban landscape. This small block, however, has unique traits that make it different from other enclaves. While other enclaves provide accommodations and work places for newer immigrants, it only exists for consumption without residential purposes, which creates high density of entertaining and shopping opportunities. This paper analyzes not only physical uniqueness of urban landscape but also historical and socio-cultural code of a transnational ethnic consumption space. Korea town reflects economic, political and cultural changes both in Korea and in the US and its reciprocal relationship between two societies. Even if it is not visibly presented, these changes have greatly impacted on the landscape of Korea town in Manhattan through history and its cultural meanings constructed by immigrants and consumers. Empirically, this paper combines experiences of temporary Korean residents, immigrant entrepreneurs, and identification process of younger Korean Americans. As a space where they belong, these three groups became important actors and construct their urban landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay tends to study the ethnic Chinese immigrant faith groups in New York metropolitan area and focus on ethnic and religious characteristics and the implication of immigrant incorporation. Through cultural action based on religious communities, the new patterns of network are emerging from below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This poster session focuses on the migration patterns of Puerto Ricans relative to New York City. During the 1990s, the total number of Puerto Ricans living in New York City declined by over 107,591, due in great apart to significant out-migration. This analysis compares the characteristics of movers and stayers to assess the effect of migration on the comparatively poor socio-economic condition of Puerto Ricans in New York City in 2000. The initial findings show that Puerto Rican out-movers outnumbered in-movers by more than 2 to 1. Consistent with spatial assimilation models, a considerable share of those movers settled in the suburban rings of the city. Of particular note, however, is the substantial shares that settled either in the South Atlantic region and Puerto Rico. A review of the characteristics of out Puerto Rican migrants shows that relative to stayers and in-migrants they are slightly older, living in married couple households, in the labor force and employed and the least likely to be living in poverty. Consistent with their family and employment status, out-movers had the highest family and household incomes of any mobility group. Thus, the figures indicate that out-migration is more selective of those who are economically established and perhaps is capturing the assimilation process in action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For this presentation, I plan to investigate how Senegalese women in the immigrant community in New York manage social risks associated with globalization. I will show how they use cultural and social capital to reverse gender inequalities through their everyday monetary practices. I intend to show that these women's current practices in New York are an extension of monetary practices, religious life (Mouridism) and networks rooted in Senegal. The nature of these monetary practices in this new social, cultural and economic context, allows us to understand how they redefine gender relations in Senegalese community in New York. In the tontine association, members pool periodically contributions and the lump sum is then attributed to one of them by vote or need basis. This informal system provides a source of savings while also fortifying social networks. However from a macro-economic perspective, the tontine is an inefficient form of savings for several reasons. The uncertainty of African women's security and power in their own lives is heightened in the process of immigration, as families are submitted to the stress of cultural adaptation and financial solvency. In light of the works of Claude Lévi-Strauss, I will work on the concept of symbolic violence, proposed by Pierre Bourdieu. I will try to show how values operate in symbolic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the biography my grandfather, Joe Sharcot, who grew up a poor child of Russian Jewish immigrants in Rochester, New York to explore the relationship between racial biography and masculinity. Joe Sharcot channeled a burning desire to escape the ghetto into football and eventually won a "scholarship" to the University of Illinois. The angry kid from Rochester's Jewish ghetto left Illinois as Joseph Sharcot, a businessman who lived the rest of his life in "integrated" middle-class suburbs. The anger and competitiveness that won Joe Sharcot a Big Ten football "scholarship" and launched a lucrative business career never left him. Weekends when grandpa watched football on television, the house emptied out. Screaming at the television could escalate into much worse and no one tempted his wrath when a favored team lost. Joe Sharcot exemplifies what I call "fortified masculinity" - an identity available, primarily, to white, heterosexual men that carried privileges and costs. Fortified masculinity integrated ethnic white men into the capitalist state so that contradiction at the level of political economy became confusion and feelings of inadequacy for the individual. Biographical analysis makes macro-level relations of power visible as they become inscribed upon and embodied within the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper examines Caribbean Indian immigrants' cultural, social, and psychological attachments to the Indian group in New York City using results of a survey of Caribbean immigrants. The major findings show that the respondents have lost much of their Indian cultural traditions. Moreover, they maintain close ties mainly to other Caribbean Indian immigrants, with few of them having an Indian immigrant as their best friend. In addition, the findings indicate that they have little psychological attachment to India or the Indian immigrant group. A majority of them identify with their country of origin, with less than 20% identifying as Caribbean Indian. But, no matter how much Caribbean Indian immigrants are detached from Asian Indian immigrants, their descendents are likely to be incorporated into the Indian group because race relations in the United States will play a very important role in their identity formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to examine how race and social class of Punjabi immigrants (people from the Northwest Indian state of Punjab, India) shape their decision to choose driving taxis in New York City. This objective is explored at the macro and micro sociological levels. At the macro level, I look at the how the influences of race and capitalism (that produced a certain class effect for the workers) changed the supply of labor and worsened the conditions of driving taxis as an occupation. At the micro level, I discuss why the Punjabis perceived their non-white/immigrant and socioeconomic status as limitations in the labor market and, in turn, viewed driving taxis as the best option. It is in this way that I link micro and macro social processes in explaining Punjabis' decision to drive taxis. Both primary and secondary sources are used for the analysis. Included in the secondary source is a brief history of the New York taxi industry. The primary sources include interviews of 59 Punjabi taxi drivers, officials at the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission, advocates of New York Taxi Workers Alliance, representatives of taxi drivers at the taxi courts and demographic data on the racial/ethnic distribution of taxi drivers in the industry. Overall, this research places immigrant job "choices" within broader social contexts and shows the importance of doing so by future studies on immigrant incorporation. And, a look at Punjabis sheds light on an understudied Asian American and working class group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

his paper tends to explore the relationship among the construction of religious identity within the ethnic Chinese migration community under the condition of Globalization. Globalization forces racial, ethnic, national groups to define themselves as global actors. What is the religious incorporation among ethnic Chinese immigrants under the globalization? My field research in New York has released three ways to be ethnic Chinese: Nationalist (Falun Gong), Diaspora (Chinese Christian Herald Crusade), and Universalists (Tzu Chi). Falun Gong began to develop in China but was then forced to spread into the West, and has now become a global faith practice cultivating human rights and a new advocacy group on overthrowing Chinese Communist Party and requesting for freedom of religious practice in China. Chinese Christian Herald Crusade has started its missions in "oversea" New York and now are promoting a Pan-Chinese Christian identity focusing on serving immigrants and building coalition among Chinese churches in New York and North America. Tzu Chi New York, as a lay regional organization of an international disaster relief foundation with over 4 millions members, attracts large resources from local community and devoted followers under the banner of philanthropic Buddhism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the political mobilization of three new immigrant groups in New York: Liberians, Mexicans and Pakistanis. The groups vary on several key dimensions of incorporation into the political system in the US and New York, as well as on different kinds of transnational linkages with their home country. The groups also differ on the extent to which they are internally divided by time of arrival. Many Liberians have refugee status, and are as a group more likely to have more education than the other two groups, but are also riven by internal conflicts between indigenous Liberians and those who trace their ancestry back to Americo-Liberians descended from African slaves. The main link with Liberia now is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is seeking to take statements from Liberians living abroad regarding crimes committed during its civil wars. Pakistanis have both a significant documented and undocumented population, have more education than Mexicans and less than Liberians, but also confront the post 9-11 context, in which Muslims are all seen as potential terrorists. They have had two significant reactions to this -to defend their group against unfair targeting by the authorities, but also more long term plans for incorporating young Pakistanis into American politics, both local and national, via internships and other political action. Their relationship with their home regime is mixed, both wary caution and enthusiasm for the current President. Finally, Mexicans in New York have the strongest diasporic links with Mexico, both on the village level, and via the Mexican Consulate, which plays an important behind the scenes role in organizing politics among Mexicans in New York. The Mexican population in New York has the lowest levels of income and education of any of the groups we are studying, and the highest percentage of undocumented status, over 90% of those arriving in the last ten years. They are under the radar mainly on post 9-11 issues. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to establish social service facilities to empower immigrants often encounter fierce local resistance. Community-based research informed by social movement theory can assist advocates in developing strategies that effectively prevent and respond to opposition. In partnership with the New York Asian Women's Center and the Workplace Project, we examined two cases—one involving the successful establishment of a shelter mainly serving Asian women and the other involving unsuccessful efforts to establish a official hiring site mostly serving Mexican and Central American men. Along with a review of the literature, our analysis of data from archival searches, focus groups, and surveys suggests five lessons for increasing the chances for success: (1) inclusive and ongoing strategic planning processes that draw upon past experiences and local knowledge; (2) identifying policy discourses that assist in cultivating support among targets, the media, and bystanders; (3) creating task-forces or advisory boards rather than hearings or community forums as the primary vehicles for addressing resident concerns; (4) blurring identity boundaries in public relations work while at the same time reinforcing these boundaries in mobilizing allies and members; and (5) acquiring direct ownership of the proposed facilities by the service provider. The study illustrates the benefits of community-based research both as a tool for encouraging strategic thinking, planning, and practice among community organizers and as a method that yields important insights for social movement theory (in this case that the dynamics of contention shape campaign outcomes and that discursive opportunities can be used to create political opportunities). ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the impressions and meanings of gangs and violence among Latino students in a New York City middle school and as they transition into high school. Our concern is to further contextualize the specific social vulnerabilities of the first and second-generation children of immigrant families within the range of identities and trajectories open to them. Rather than infer any shared collective identity characteristics based on comparable activities, we are measuring one group's sense of identity and association by speaking with them about it. In so doing, we reevaluate theories explaining immigrant adolescent identity formation in order to raise questions about the value and use of the segmented assimilation perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study offers a novel perspective on well-documented patterns of spatial and economic concentration among US foreign-born residents by highlighting connections between migratory processes of concentration and dispersion and their implications for understanding the social organization of foreign-born workers now leaving top gateway regions for other US destinations. Analyses of census data for migrants in and from Los Angeles and New York reveal several significant patterns. First, the volume of foreign-born migration from these leading gateway regions is increasing, overall and for constituent groups; second, in most cases respective out-migrants are reproducing 'local' employment niches at rates higher than coethnic members who stay behind; and third, this reproduction of gateway-ethnic niches over space, as well as time, varies by the size of the niche in question and distance migrated by the respective foreign-born worker. The implication is that established ethnic niches are becoming more than location-specific forms of social capital; they are now also becoming translocal forms of social capital that shape employment opportunities and outcomes for hundreds of thousands of foreign-born workers now leaving top gateway regions for other US destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New York has had a long history of immigration. Liberians are among the newest group settling in New York. Most Liberians entered the U.S. as refugees of whom many have found new homes in Park Hill, Staten Island. This ethnography discusses the role of refugee resettlement policies and resettlement agencies and the relationship between Liberian refugees and African Americans in Staten Island's North Shore. In addition, the author analyzes how the Park Hill neighborhood has shaped its residents and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]