Dual citizenship and political participation: migrants in the interplay of united states and colombian politics

Colombian migrants have naturalized in great numbers following the enactment of Colombian dual citizenship legislation in 1990 and the US immigration reforms of 1990s. Contrary to fears that dual citizenship is detrimental to political engagement and a threat to US democracy, the writer argues that...

Full description

Autores:
Escobar, Cristina
Tipo de recurso:
Article of journal
Fecha de publicación:
2005
Institución:
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Repositorio:
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Idioma:
spa
OAI Identifier:
oai:repositorio.unal.edu.co:unal/50957
Acceso en línea:
https://repositorio.unal.edu.co/handle/unal/50957
http://bdigital.unal.edu.co/44999/
Palabra clave:
Colombia
ciudadanía
naturalización
inmigración
organización transnacional
participación política
Colombia
nationality
naturalization
migration
transnational organization
political participation
Rights
openAccess
License
Atribución-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional
Description
Summary:Colombian migrants have naturalized in great numbers following the enactment of Colombian dual citizenship legislation in 1990 and the US immigration reforms of 1990s. Contrary to fears that dual citizenship is detrimental to political engagement and a threat to US democracy, the writer argues that the maintenance of formal ties to their home-country does not result in migrant’s political disengagement from their country of residence. Rather, transnational migrant organizations have played a critical role as agents of political engagement. Colombian dual citizenship has also facilitated migrant’s decision to nationalize in order to prevent the loss of privileges that the us has restricted to those holding citizen status. Contrary to fears that this “instrumental” use of naturalization poses a danger to the nation, the article argues that this motive for naturalization does not necessarily exclude migrant’s interest in political participation and can, instead, be considered an opportunity for inclusion.