Pessimists, Optimists, and Skeptics : The Consequences of Transnational Ties on Latino Immigrant Naturalization

The surge in immigration to the United States since the 1965 Immigration Act has heightened interest and research exploring the factors fostering and/or impeding immigrant political incorporation; with much of it focusing on Latinos, the largest group making up the contemporary immigration wave. In this examination, we focus on immigrants' choice to acquire citizenship, a critical step in the incorporation process, which confers upon immigrants the right to vote and hold elective office, allowing them to fully participate in the American political system. While scholars have traditionally looked to socio-demographic factors in predicting naturalization among Latinos, recent research has begun to focus attention on the impact of transnational ties, examining the political consequences of immigrant cross-border networks. Drawing on survey data from the 2006 Latino National Survey (LNS), this paper tests the competing hypotheses: (i) Transnational networks are negatively related to Latino immigrant naturalization (the pessimists) (ii) Transnational ties are positively related to Latino immigrant naturalization (the optimists) (iii) Transnational ties are unrelated to Latino immigrant naturalization. The traditional predictors will exert a greater influence on the naturalization decision (the skeptics). Our search finds strong support for the optimist hypothesis. In the paper we consider the policy implications of the findings