IMMIGRANT KINSHIP NETWORKS - VIETNAMESE, SALVADOREANS AND MEXICANS INCOMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Whereas the majority of immigrants obtain substantial assistance from their kinship networks at the place of destination, there are instance s when these networks do not lend such support. The experiences of rec ent Salvadorean immigrants to San Francisco exemplify this case. Altho ugh the majority of these Salvadoreans received a great deal of help f rom kinfolk to make the journey north, these networks often failed to provide assistance at the point of destination. Based on 80 intensive interviews and ethnographic observations, this article seeks to explai n instances of network breakdown among Salvadoreans through a comparis on with the experiences of Vietnamese and Mexicans, among whom kinship networks do not bleak down in the same manner as they do among Salvad oreans. The analysis in this study suggests that macro-structural forc es in the receiving context shapes network dynamics among immigrants i n significant ways. The forces in the receiving context include immigr ation policies, the oscillations of the local economy, and the charact eristic:; of the immigrant community Such as its resources and its mig ratory history.