Beyond Borders and Belonging: Chinese Illegal Migration and Diaspora as Distinct Forces in Shaping American Communities

Abstract

This research paper challenges the dichotomy between illegal migration and diaspora in Chinese transnationalism in the United States. Applying the theoretical frameworks in Global Asias, i.e., the idea of flexible citizenship provided by Aihwa Ong and analysis of Orientalism by John Kuo Wei Tchen, this paper compares the experiences of undocumented Fujianese migrants with those of the overall, legally constituted, Chinese diaspora. Although these groups are often simplified into a single, heterogeneous demographic of so-called Chinese Americans, each has unique motivations, economic realities, and processes of identity formation. It not only delves into the purpose of the goddess Mazu as a dual force in smuggling protection and cultural glue but also examines how American Orientalism confines the two groups, through space, in Chinatowns, and diverts them in their different directions to make them feel like part of something. Investigating the field of smuggling economics, religious networks, spatial politics, and digital transnationalism, this study introduces the underlying stratifications in Chinese America that resist monolithic accounts of immigrant assimilation.

Keywords: Global Asias, Global Studies, Cultural Studies, Economics, Political Science

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