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Abstract
This article examines supranational European identity for children of immigrants – a topic relatively unexplored in literature on immigrant integration and on European identity development. It focuses on two key concerns: the potential significance of the link between children of immigrants and European identity, and children of immigrants' understandings of European identity. Findings suggest that European identity is of relevance to immigrant-origin individuals and indicate the importance of examining identification at multiple geopolitical levels, including the supranational level, in immigrant integration research. Findings also show that meanings attributed to European identity are varied but largely positive, and that they are often based on contrasts with the family's region of origin.
Notes
1. This number only includes those without their country of residence's nationality; it is certainly much higher if nationalized foreigners and children of immigrants are counted.
2. For clarification, I refer specifically to those from non-EU-member countries who migrate to Europe (EU member countries).
3. This article treats Europe as EU member nations, and therefore uses the geographical terms for Europe and the EU synonymously. It is important to note that, in contrast to some other work on European identity, this article does not intend to make a normative argument about what Europe or European identity is or should be. Rather, it deals with how ‘being European’ is understood by the children of immigrants from non-European nations.
4. The use and meaning of the words assimilation and integration is often contentious, particularly when dealing with transatlantic audiences. This paper uses the word ‘assimilation’ and ‘integration’ as analogous and as relating to boundaries and identities; they are used to mean the decreasing salience of ‘otherness’, whether decreased in relation to a mainstream or a particular segment of society. This does not necessarily indicate immigrants' or minorities’ wholesale adoptions of receiving society culture and norms.
5. For work on this topic, see Camia, Citation2010 and others.
6. This includes a small number of respondents who specified that they ‘sometimes’ felt European.
7. If respondents had difficulty discussing or responding to questions on European identity, the interviewer did not press the point and instead moved on to another topic. The fact that respondents were not forced to provide answers helps to ensure that responses, when provided, were true to the subjects’ thoughts and opinions rather than emerging from interviewer pressure.
8. This is corroborated in other related research (e.g. Portes, Vickstrom, & Aparicio, Citation2011).
9. All quotations in this article come from the author's interview data. Information on this data is explained in the methodology section. All quotations were translated from Spanish by the author.
10. Within the focus on educational or occupational opportunities, the state of the Spanish economy, which was mired in economic crisis at the time of the interviews, often proved significant. Numerous respondents saw little opportunity for their future in Spain, and they felt they had a greater possibility of succeeding in other countries Respondents saw Spanish peers as having a relative advantage to them in the local job market. This was sometimes attributed to discrimination, but also to the importance of family and other social connections for obtaining employment.
11. Within the context of discussion, this respondent uses ‘American’ to refer to the United States.
12. As previously mentioned, although some respondents saw Spanish identity as a prerequisite for European identity, some identified as European but not as Spanish, and others who identified as Spanish (or as both Spanish and as the nationality of their parents’ country of origin) did not identify as European.
13. These respondents, as second or 1.5 generation, are relatively long-term residents and arrived at a time when legal residency was relatively easy to acquire. When the issue of citizenship arose in interviews, the vast majority of respondents were either citizens or legal residents.
14. Respondents also very regularly characterized Spaniards, and not just Europeans, as cold or unfriendly.
15. Interestingly, respondents do not associate European identity with negative recession-related aspects of EU governance, such as the imposition or suggestion of austerity measures for member nations. This may be partly due to the timing of the data collection, since the EU suggestion and imposition of austerity measures has become more intense and contentious following the 2010-early 2011 data collection period.
16. Though, for this study's respondents, these links are seen as having little relevance to accessing Spanish or European belonging.