“I feel a responsibility to help”: Understanding immigrant-origin young adults’ early entry into the labor market

• In Event: 40429 - Immigration and Child Labor

Abstract

Immigration status has significant impacts on not only the individual but also immediate family
members. For youth and young adults living in low-income and mixed-status families, the
financial and social challenges imposed by limbo statuses are often compounded by their
family’s working-class position, influencing their early entry into the labor market. While some
youth and young adults are expected to help the family with living expenses, others begin
working in their early teens because they want to lessen the financial burden, they observe
parents/caretakers carrying to provide for the family’s needs. This paper focuses on the early
entry into the labor market among immigrant and second-generation youth and young adults to
understand how the intersection of immigration status and working-class position shape their
early entry into the labor market and their work experiences. Drawing on 60 interviews with
Latina/o young adults (18-28 years old) living in a mid-size city in Southern California, I find
that for many their first jobs begin at home performing care-taking responsibilities for younger
siblings, cousins, and/or elderly relatives. As they become teenagers in high school, they not only
become engaged in the care-taking of family members but also begin working in primarily
service sector jobs as they find work via their family and friend networks, which are mostly
defined by their immigrant and working-class social locations. While they take on adult
responsibilities, many find a sense of fulfillment in being able to contribute to the family by
decreasing the challenges they must navigate.

Author

• Karina Chavarria, CSU Channel Islands