KINSHIP NETWORKS AMONG IMMIGRANTS - LESSONS FROM A QUALITATIVE COMPARATIVE APPROACH

Through a comparative framework that includes state policies of recept ion, the local labor market, the organization of the receiving communi ty, and the migration history of the group in question, this paper ana lyses the effects of the receiving context on kinship-based networks a mong recent immigrants to California. Based on 80 intensive interviews among Salvadoreans, Vietnamese and Mexicans immigrants, this article seeks to explain the sustainability of kinship networks as well as the ir breakdown, which occurs al the place of destination. The article hi ghlights the fruitfulness of comparing network outcomes across immigra nt groups that face different contexts of reception.