Organizer: NYU Global Philippine Studies Forum and Sulo:the Philippines Studies Initiative at NYU

Description:

Scholars have pointed out that current constructions of legality/illegality need further development. Dr. Pila proposes the “legal status fluidity” framework to theorize movement in between statuses and how immigrants navigate the U.S. immigration system. She draws her analysis from 54 in-depth interviews and more than 100 hours of multi-sited participant observation with Filipino and Filipino Americans immigrants from the Greater New York metropolitan area. Using the legal status fluidity framework, she analyzes the experiences of 20 U.S.-born Filipino Americans, how their U.S. citizenship is the consequence of previous generations’ legal status fluidity, and the price for such fluidity.

The respondents’ obtained U.S. citizenship as a consequence of their parents’ legal status fluidity. This protected them from experiencing legal status hardships and undergoing the U.S. immigration system but this protection did not apply to their parents and older siblings who experienced family separation. The respondents’ parents also opted to hide their migration histories particularly for those who were formerly undocumented due to the pain and hiya associated with undocumented status. The price of their citizenship privilege was in the form of their ethnic identity and community. As a result of their children’s citizenship, the parents emphasized their assimilation and neglected to pass down cultural teachings during childhood. While the respondents’ narratives showcased multiple instances of ethnic community and ties, they nonetheless claimed a disconnect to their ethnic identity. Finally, the respondents were expected to navigate life with Filipino culture and values, particularly to the internalized racism and antiblackness in the Filipino community in their friendships and romantic partners.

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