The Contentious Labor Market Incorporation of Colombian and Puerto Rican Computer Engineers in the US

• In Event: 506 - Section on International Migration Paper Session. Immigrant Workers and Professionals in Precarious Jobs

Abstract

In this paper I examine the opportunities and challenges Colombian and Puerto Rican computer engineers in the United States encountered during their settlement process in three different transnational localities geographically located in the American northeast. I argue that the workplace incorporation of these engineers is paradoxical because it is an experience of privileged marginality. Their privileged background, and socialization, as well as the training and social networks they acquired in their hometown universities allowed them to experience a seemingly easy workplace incorporation. Experiences of ethno-racial marginalization and the legal structures of immigration legislation turn this initial privileged experience into one of increasing uncertainty and marginality. Stereotyping related to their ethnicity and place of origin, accent marginalization and second class citizenship were among the ethno-racist experiences these engineers encounter. Employee-employer dependence, stagnant salaries and delayed life course decisions were among the issues associated with legal uncertainty these engineers experienced. Symbolic boundary drawing and reliance on social networks were among the strategies engineers in this study used to countervail marginalization.

Author

• Lina Rincón, State University of New York-Albany