Reunification Issues of Central American Immigrants - Essay Example

Literature Review This literature review deals with family reunification issues of Central American Immigrants. This paper reviews the literature that is being used as regards immigration and the role of families. In order to do this, the researcher has made use of the previously available work also known as secondary research on the subject along the following technicalities: Relevance to subject Logical flow of information In context of research methodology and overall problem of the dissertation. To begin with, it is imperative to understand the meaning and importance of a literature review to any dissertation. A piece of research is incomplete without adherence to the work previously conducted on the subject. A researcher cannot move forward or find a fitting basis for research unless he or she regards the work of scholars who have dabbled in the field previously. Yet, in today's age of information and knowledge, it may be seen that it has become more important than ever to keep an eye on including literature that pertains directly to the analysis and findings of the subject at hand. This is where a review of the literature comes in as it helps the researcher look at the use of literature gathered in a critical manner. According to Cooper (Davies et al, 2003) "a literature review uses as its database reports of primary or original scholarship, and does not report new primary scholarship itself. The primary reports used in the literature may be verbal, but in the vast majority of cases reports are written documents. The types of scholarship may be empirical, theoretical, critical/analytic, or methodological in nature. Second a literature review seeks to describe, summarize, evaluate, clarify and/or integrate the content of primary reports". These principles as laid down by Cooper have been followed in ensuring that the literature used within this dissertation has been reviewed carefully in order to omit irrelevant pieces of work and include only those that are relevant to the topic. (Davies et al, 2003) This paper thus summarises the various works that have been used in terms of various sub topics and sections within the dissertation. In doing so, there is a close connection with the methodology and basic statement of the dissertation. The principles borrowed from the works of the scholars that have been used in this dissertation correspond directly with the statement of this paper. As a nation, the United States of America has paid a heavy price for attaining civilization. This seems to be the basic premise upon which author T.H Breen has built the ideologies that shapes the nation, in his book titled, The Power of Words - Documents in American History. This book is based on an important aspect of American history which starts just as the civil war ended in 1860. History is still often seen as the presentation of facts from the past, so that learning involves the mere memorization of the facts. What makes history so interesting and stimulating, however, are the debates that emerge over the facts. From an early stage, the middle passage inspired moral outrage among those opposed to the slave trade, who often treated it as the most horrific part of the whole slave experience. Recently some scholars have argued that such moral outrage has led to a "melodramatic" rather than a "historical" account of the middle passage. I have tried to present an argument that we need a more balanced and less moralistic account of the middle passage from the perspective of the changing values and challenges thrown up by industrialization. (Breen T. H; 1997) This points to the disintegration of the traditional family system in keeping with the emergence of the new, immigrant family within Central America where working towards making a new identity is what counts the most in terms of reunification issues and issues pertaining to separation during migration of entire families. Another important piece of literature in this regard is by Coutin (2005) who believes that violence against children is the most common root of most migration problems that are linked with separation at migration, and which further have a bearing on the reunification process (Coutin, 2005). Violence in the domestic scenario is a serious issues and that erupts practically every second somewhere in the world, in some ugly form or another. To call a person's behaviour violent is one, and to actually sustain that kind of behaviour in the face of all adversity is another. In this regard, there is also scope to misunderstand the situation by applying the wrong parameters to study it. This has promoted great debates into what qualifies as domestic violence and what does not. This kind of violence occurs in the case of women, children and even domestic help, in various parts of the world. Violence against children is a crime that must be prevented. It is something that cuts across elements like culture, race and ethnicity. It does not necessarily come from external sources or influences from cultures. It may come from emotional instabilities and broken marriages as well as the child's insecurities and communal disruptions. Furthermore, violence on children inevitably leaves indelible scars on their psyche. According to the UN, domestic violence can be categorized as follows: physical; emotional; sexual; and a combination of the above. Apart from violence, one of the most common outcomes of separation during migration is substance or drug abuse, according to Maite et al (2007). One of the most important premises for research comes from Vincent Parrillo who has discussed migration issues for Central and other parts of America. Among the various books he has authored is one titled Strangers to these Shores. Not only does this book feature topics pertaining to a plethora of current issues, including Afrocentrism, multiculturalism, political correctness, the glass ceiling, ethnoviolence, immigration, illegal aliens, and bilingual education; it also serves as a good guide and informant to general educators and historians alike. The book reads like a story of a society determined to rise out of the dredges of the disadvantages of diversity so as to achieve unity in all its quarters as it strives to retain its right to be different. The material contains the all important implication that understanding different lifestyles and ways of living gives people a broader perspective in their own lives - this thought can be called a summation of all the ideas in this book. Strangers to these Shores goes on to give an insight into various communities and so called minorities who have the potential to deliver us to unknown lands and their unknown cultures. The United States of America has a salad bowl for its cultural and social structure, owing to the fact that it is basically made up of immigrants pursuing the "Great American Dream". These immigrants fall into a variety of groups and minorities struggling to keep their basic identity intact and yet, contribute to the Central American mosaic of cultures and minorities. The basic metal and cultural setup of a country is formed by it inhabitants and the people who come forth to call it home. Throughout history, there have been numerous examples of how Central American immigrants have been an important part of the people as a whole when it comes to contribution to the cultural and basic climate of a country. The case for this paper is that of Central America. The basic reason for people migrating to a certain part of the world is the lure of opportunity as opposed to whatever threat might have met them in their home land. In this regard, the paper will discuss the work of Ronal Tataki, as he sets about describing the mindset of the Irish Americans who came to set up homes in America. Also, this paper will use the work of Jon Gjerde who has described the attitudes of the German Americans from the Strearn County. These works have been used in order to demonstrate the expectations of the people from various quarters like Scandinavia, Germany and Ireland, as they migrated to America. These concerns have been echoed by Bump et al (2005), in Forced Migration, regarding the disintegration of families under the physical and psychological pressures of human trafficking and other such practices. In this regard, Cornelieus et al (2007) have used logistics regression to study the impact of border enforcement laws as far as the case of Mexican migration to Central America is concerned. Corsetti (2006) points out that Central America enjoys one of the highest rates of violence with its gang culture and other such socially dysfunctional phenomena. The research within this paper is based on the findings of Corsetti's research. Jon Gjerde's book titled Major Problems in American Immigration and Ethnic History is a story of a society determined to rise out of the dredges of the disadvantages of diversity so as to achieve unity in all its quarters as it strives to retain its right to be different. The material contains the all important implication that understanding different lifestyles and ways of living gives people a broader perspective in their own lives - this thought can be called a summation of all the ideas in this book. This book goes on to give an insight into various communities and so called minorities who have the potential to deliver us to unknown lands and their unknown cultures. The primary documents of this book describe the United States of America as a salad bowl for its cultural and social structure, owing to the fact that it is basically made up of immigrants pursuing the "Great American Dream". These immigrants fall into a variety of groups and minorities struggling to keep their basic identity intact and yet, contribute to the American mosaic of cultures and minorities. (Gjerde, 1998. Pp 288 to 290) References: 1. Parrillo N, Vincent. Strangers to these Shores. 7 Edition. Allyn & Bacon; (July 30, 2002) 2. Jon, Gjerde. Major Problems in American Immigration and Ethnic History. Houghton Mifflin Company. (1998) 3. Winkel, George A (Esq) Stand up and Sound Off: Thind Vs United States. The Multiracial Activist (1999). 4. Hovi, Hanna. (Dec, 2001). The Great Melting Pot: European Mass Migration to America, 1840 to 1914. University of Tampere. 5. Bedford, Henry and Trevor Colbourn. (1972) Part Two. The Americans. A Brief History Since 1865. Ed. John Morton Blum. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 6. Gjerde, Jon (Nov, 2003). From Peasants to Farmers: The Migration from Balestrand, Norway, to the Upper Middle West. Cambridge University Press. 7. T. H. Breen. "The power of words" Documents in American History, Volume II: From 1865. Harper Collins College Publishers. 1997 8. Harrell, David Edwin Jr.; Gaustad, Edwin S. Unto A Good Land (A History of The American People) Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2005 9. Corsetti, J.D. (2006). Marked for Death: The Maras of Central America does who flee their wrath. Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, Spring, 407- 436. 10. Cornelius, W.A. and I. Sealyham. (2007) Does border enforcement deter unauthorized immigration The case of Mexican migration to the United States of America. Regulation & Governance,1, 139-153. 11. Bump, M., Duncan, J., Gozdziak, E., & MacDonnell, M. (2005). Second Conference on identifying and serving child victims of trafficking. Forced Migration, 43, 343-363. 12. Davies, John; Fensel, Dieter; Harmelen; Frank V (2003). "Towards the Semantic Web: Ontology Driven Knowledge Management." Wiley Publishers. 13. Coutin, S.B. (2005). Being En Route. American Anthropologist,107, 195-206. 14. A Strategy for Children In Need, August (2003) Deveopling the Strategy, A Consultation Document, DH&SS 15. Co-Operating to Safeguard Children, (May 2003) DH&SS www.dhsspsni.gov.uk 16. Women's Aid. URL: http://www.womens-aid.org.uk/statistics.php (Accessed during March 2008) 17. UNICEF. Child Protection form violence, exploitation and abuse. URL: http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_27374.html (Accessed during March, 2008) 18. Maite P. Mena, PsyD; Victoria B. Mitrani; PhD, Joan A. Muir, PhD; Daniel A. Santisteban, PhD. (2007) "Collaborative Practice Extended Parent-Child Separations: Impact on Substance-Abusing Hispanic Adolescents" Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing; Volume 13 Issue 1,Pages50-52 Read More