Feeling at Home? Mixed Sense of Belonging Among Economically Successful Immigrants in the United States

• In Event: International Migration Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 10. Immigrant integration/assimilation

Abstract

This paper examines how economically successful first‑generation immigrants in the United States understand and experience belonging. While classical assimilation theories posit that structural integration should strengthen belonging, emerging research highlights an integration paradox whereby some highly educated and economically integrated immigrants report weak attachment to the host society. Drawing on 58 qualitative interviews with economically successful immigrants, we analyze how social, familial, and contextual factors shape their sense of home. Despite meeting conventional indicators of integration—high incomes, advanced degrees, citizenship, and employment in high‑skilled occupations—their narratives reveal persistent ambivalence and conditional belonging. This disconnect underscores the limitations of relying solely on socioeconomic or legal markers to assess integration and belonging. Three themes illuminate the multi‑layered nature of belonging. First, immigrants navigate simultaneous push and pull forces: discrimination may coexist with strong attachment to the United States, while strained ties to the home country can deepen U.S. belonging. Second, belonging is not dichotomous; many participants maintain meaningful attachments to multiple places, often through transnational practices or family ties. Third, belonging is fluid, shifting with personal trajectories and broader sociopolitical climates, including the rhetoric of the second Trump administration. Overall, the study advances integration scholarship by demonstrating that belonging among economically successful immigrants is contingent, negotiated, and deeply relational rather than a straightforward outcome of structural incorporation.

Authors

• Gabriela León-Pérez, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Saltanat Liebert

• Grant Rissler

• Daniel Morales

• Helga Staalhane