Immigrant Kinship Networks: Vietnamese, Salvadoreans and Mexicans in Comparative Perspective

Whereas the majority of immigrants obtain substantial assistance from their kinship networks at the place of destination, there are instances when these networks do not lend such support. The experiences of recent Salvadorean immigrants to San Francisco exemplify this case. Although the majority of these Salvadoreans received a great deal of help from kinfolk to make the journey north, these networks often failed to provide assistance at the point of destination. Based on 80 intensive interviews and ethnographic observations, this article seeks to explain instances of network breakdown amon eo, Salvadoreans through a comparison with the experiences of Vietnamese and Mexicans, among whom kinship networks do not break down in the same manner-as they do among Salvadoreans. The analysis in this study suggests that macro-structural forces in the receiving context shapes network dynamics among immigrants in significant ways. The forces in the receiving context include immigration policies, the oscillations of the local economy, and the characteristics of the immigrant community such as its resources and its migratory history.