Citizenship Across Borders ─ The Political Transnationalism of El Migrante

Smith and Bakker (both: U. of California, Davis) report findings from community- based ethnographic field research on the practices of U.S.-Mexican transnational citizenship conducted between 2000 and 2005. The text combines data collected in the Mexican states of Zacatecas and Guanajuato and various cities in California, particularly Los Angeles, with political-economic and institutional analysis of neoliberal globalization and state restructuring processes across the U.S.-Mexican border. Through five extended case studies of Mexican migrant transnational activists, the authors examine the transnational politics of incorporation, accommodation, and resistance initiated by grassroot actors at various local, translocal, national, and cross-border levels. The dual citizenship of Mexican migrants is found to be positive, providing a sense of empowerment that fosters migrants' active participation in both American and Mexican politics. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)