The "Other" Mexicans: Transnational Citizenship And Mexican Middle Class Migration In Toronto, Canada [post]

Omar Lujan
2021 unpublished
Mexico has one of the highest numbers of emigrants in the world (Martin, 2009) and Canada is one of the states with the highest per capita immigration rates globally (Léonard, 2011). Mexico and Canada are typical examples of immigrant and emigrant countries and both countries have developed policies and strategies that aim to foster civic participation among their immigrant and emigrant population respectively (Martin, 2009; Goldring, 2002; Barry, 2002; Li, 2002; Reitz, 2005; Bauder, 2011). In
more » ... anada, academic research on immigration has centred on the effect immigration policies and practices have on including and excluding immigrants from exercising citizenship rights but it has tended to ignore the effect emigration policies have in the development of transnational citizenship practices, such as civic engagement, political participation, social activism, and acts of solidarity that transcend the frontiers of the nation-state. This has left important questions unanswered on how transnational citizenship is developed and exercised in a migration context including: 1) which policies and practices immigrants use to exercise transnational citizenship; 2) what is the impact of transnational citizenship practices in terms of the expansion and contraction of citizenship rights in the context of migration; 3) who is included and excluded by emigration policies promoting transnational citizen engagement; and 4) how do internal community issues, conflicts, cooperation, and solidarity affect the process of transnational enacting of citizenship? I attempt to fill this research gap by studying the effects Mexican emigration policies have on promoting transnational citizenship practices among middle class Mexican immigrants in Toronto and other cities in Ontario and by showing the avenues these immigrants use in order to participate civically with Mexico and with the Mexican diaspora in Canada.
doi:10.32920/14660442 fatcat:pqsbsn7yxvf37m7dnlbqcnvnsq