Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies

Major Professor

Beatriz Padilla, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Adriana Novoa, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Alejandro Marquez, Ph.D.

Keywords

Undocumented, Higher Education, Social Mobility, Rural, Misinformation

Abstract

This project explores the realities of Brazilian undocumented immigrant youth who entered the United States before the age of 18 and have settled in the island community of Martha’s Vineyard located in Massachusetts. This project analyzes the barriers that Brazilian undocumented youth encounter in pursuing their dream futures, in the light of their legal status and the island context. The theoretical frameworks used in the study drew from notions of segmented assimilation and modes of incorporation (Bean, 2011; Patler, 2018a), immigrant social networks (Assis, 2003; Padilla, 2006), liminal legality, (Cebulko, 2014; Menjíver, 2006; Patler, 2018a) citizenship frames, (Friorito, 2019; Patler, 2018, 2018b), and Gonzales’ (2011) concept of “learning to be illegal” (Gonzales, 2011). Data gathered from thirteen in-depth interviews between young Brazilian immigrants and key informants suggest that youth’s prospects are shaped by the lack of information and resources accessible to them locally. Participant interviews further revealed a Vineyard reality characterized by social segregation where immigrants and U.S.-born islanders live in separate social spaces, reinforcing local mechanisms of misinformation and social exclusion that produce insufficient support for youth with liminal legality.

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