Transnational Engagement as a Catalyst for Latino Immigrants' Political Involvement in the United States.

The cross-border activities of Latino immigrants have heightened anxiety over the prospect of their integration into the host society. It is commonly believed that Latino immigrants would never be fully incorporated into the host country as long as they remain engaged in transnational enterprises. Contrary to such a pessimistic view, I expand on the idea that immigrants may be simultaneously incorporated into the host and home countries. I argue that transnational engagement will help immigrants become more resourceful and psychologically efficacious, and thus promote their participation in the host country. Drawing on data from a survey of 1202 immigrants from Mexico, Dominican Republic, and El Salvador, this study shows that transnational involvement tends to encourage Latino immigrants to be engaged in the politics of the host country, while host country engagement has little effect on cross-border involvement. This indicates that transnationalism is largely an adaptive strategy immigrants consciously or unconsciously employ in their quest for social mobility. Transnationalism may be understood as an episode in the long and bumpy assimilation process immigrants undergo. However, no evidence is available to predict how enduring that episode will be. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]