Explaining Cross-Border Political Activities among Latino Immigrants in the United States

This study examines the characteristics of those who participate in cross-border political activities and explains why they do so. Data from a survey of 1,202 Latino immigrants reveal that trans-state political activities originate in an instrumentally motivated adaptation strategy immigrants employ to protect and promote their material and symbolic goals. Specifically, those who have strong incentives to safeguard their economic interests in the home country are active in home country politics, as are those involved in trans-state cultural enterprises, since participation in cross-border cultural activities encourages immigrants to take political action in order to maintain and promote their long-standing values, beliefs, and cultural practices they acquired from the home country. Participation in cross-border political activities is thus primarily a manifestation of immigrants' desires to achieve their symbolic as well as material goals, rather than a reflection of their lack of assimilation to the host country.