Becoming Transnational Youth Workers

ISABEL MARTINEZ is an assistant professor of Latin American and Latina/o studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, New York.

"An absorbing, luminous and nuanced story of independent teenage migrants-“minors” by U.S. age norms-who journey from Mexico to New York City on their own, leaving parents and siblings behind to help support them financially, outside the purview of the legal system. How they manage these intrepid journeys, and the predicaments that inevitably accompany them, is the subject of this remarkable book. Theoretically sophisticated and deeply observed across years of field work in communities of origin and destination, this is an original and exceptional contribution to the scholarly literature on migration, mobility, and a changing transnational life course." - Rubén G. Rumbaut (co-author of Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation) "An absorbing, luminous and nuanced story of independent teenage migrants-“minors” by U.S. age norms-who journey from Mexico to New York City on their own, leaving parents and siblings behind to help support them financially, outside the purview of the legal system. How they manage these intrepid journeys, and the predicaments that inevitably accompany them, is the subject of this remarkable book. Theoretically sophisticated and deeply observed across years of field work in communities of origin and destination, this is an original and exceptional contribution to the scholarly literature on migration, mobility, and a changing transnational life course." - Rubén G. Rumbaut (co-author of Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation) "Isabel Martinez helps us see. In the famous book Invisible Man Ellison brings us into the world of the unseen worker, the African American living amongst us but not integrated or accepted. Isabel Martinez’ skillful combining of sociology, anthropology, and dissection of legal process helps make visible the lives of migrant teenagers. She reveals through the voices of these youth stories of their daily lives, the factors that motivated them to make lonely dangerous journeys to the United States. She makes palpable the obstacles to integration experienced by Mexican migrant youth. This book will aid anyone seeking to serve immigrant communities whether as an educator, advocate, policy analyst, or fellow resident of the United States." - Lenni Benson (co-author of Immigration and Nationality Law: Problems and Strategies) "Isabel Martinez helps us see. In the famous book Invisible Man Ellison brings us into the world of the unseen worker, the African American living amongst us but not integrated or accepted. Isabel Martinez’ skillful combining of sociology, anthropology, and dissection of legal process helps make visible the lives of migrant teenagers. She reveals through the voices of these youth stories of their daily lives, the factors that motivated them to make lonely dangerous journeys to the United States. She makes palpable the obstacles to integration experienced by Mexican migrant youth. This book will aid anyone seeking to serve immigrant communities whether as an educator, advocate, policy analyst, or fellow resident of the United States." - Lenni Benson (co-author of Immigration and Nationality Law: Problems and Strategies)

• ContentsIn the Shadows of Skyscrapers and Ivory Towers“Giving my family a better future”: Familism and Interdependence Across Borders“We all come little”: The Migration of Mexican Independent Teenage MigrantsPushed or Jumped? School-Going, School-Leaving and School-ReturningFrom Campos to Kitchens: Becoming Immigrant WorkersBetween Becoming and Being AdultsConclusionAppendixAcknowledgementsNotesBibliographyIndexAbout the Author