Doctoral Dissertation Research: Immigration and the Politics of Citizenship and Race

Syracuse University, Syracuse NY

Investigators

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation research project will examine issues related to the principle of jus soli citizenship, which is the practice of unconditional birthright citizenship for people born in a country, a practice found in the United States and about 30 other nations, mostly in the Americas. The project will focus on the geography of political and economic conditions and transnational networks that sustain the practice of women who travel to another nation to give birth in order to secure citizenship in that nation for their children. Although considerable scholarly attention has been given to other forms of migration, relatively little scholarly attention has focused on what has been labelled as "birth tourism." Project findings will provide new insights and information that will contribute to broader understanding in a range of fields, such as transnational migration, immigration reception, race and place-making, and citizenship studies. The project also will foster greater knowledge about birthright citizenship's impacts on immigration politics, particularly in relation to racial formations and national belonging, and it will shed light on the changing geographies of migrant arrivals within established U.S. gateway cities. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career. The doctoral student will conduct a case study that focuses on Chinese birth tourism in southern California. The project's objectives of this research are to gather basic factual information about the process of birth tourism; investigate local perceptions about birth tourism; and analyze how birth tourism influences ideas about race in neighborhoods and regional institutions in local, regional, and national contexts. The student will employ a range of ethnographic research techniques, including participant observation, interviews with key stakeholders and families (especially women) who engage in this practice, and analysis of relevant documents such as media reports and legal policies.