Layered Connections: (Re)Shaping the Pillars of Identity Development for 1.5 and 2nd Generation Central Americans

• In Event: Latina/o Sociology Section Open Call Paper Session

Abstract

This chapter addresses how Central American identity develops through layered connections established in childhood and sustained in adulthood. Layered connections for children of immigrants become complicated due to legal vulnerability. Layered connections are established in childhood through the following pillars: food, language, space, family. Using 60 interviews with Central American young adults, I find that self- and parental immigration status directly influence the development of layered connections in childhood, due to immigration policy restrictions across these pillars. This chapter illustrates how identity is constructed of layered connections and how these pillars are impacted by immigration policy for Central American children of immigrants. I purposely stratified my interview participants into three groups by self and parental immigration status: 20 undocumented 1.5-generation participants with undocumented parents, 20 second-generation participants with undocumented parents, and 20 second-generation participants with lawfully present parents. These three comparison groups enable me to identify the impact of self- and parental-legal status on identity development. I find that participants' identities are either anchored, questioning, or dissonant.

Author

• Jenniffer Cecilia Perez Lopez, University of California-Irvine