Confronting a (Geo)politicized Transnational Field: The Case of Chinese American Immigrants

• In Event: 30425 - New Forms of Transnationalism in Action

Abstract

Using qualitative interviews with 51 Chinese American immigrants who seek to support at-home parents, this article analyzes how the interplay of temporal contexts, state policies, and migrants’ resources affects family caregiving in the highly politicized transnational field. We argue that the restrictions imposed by sending states on individuals' movement between locales, in conjunction with existing geopolitical tensions, significantly complicate migrants' negotiation of critical family life transitions. This article offers the concept of “linked immobility” to examine migrants’ immobility in relation to their loved ones’ spatial and social constraints. Such linked immobility exposes migrants and their at-home parents to unknown risks, uncertainties, and anxiety. Concurrently, many respondents confront China’s multi-scalar immobility regime and rapidly rising anti-American sentiment, either by coordinating the necessary care and resources for their parents remotely or by braving the trip to China. Our findings advance the scholarships on transnational migration and immobility by making visible how migrants react to situations where mobility is highly desired but difficult to achieve.

Authors

• Ken Chih-Yan Sun, Villanova University

• Lijun Lin, Brandeis University