Push and Pull: Formation of Guatemalan Expatriate Communities in the Greater Boston Area

Abstract

The history of the United States is a history of immigrants. From the Irish in Boston and New York, and the Chinese drawn to the open American west in the 1800s, to the French-speaking Canadians drawn to New England’s industrial cities in the beginning of the 1900s, to successive waves of migrants from Latin America fleeing war and poverty, their stories are woven into the fabric of American history. The United States has long been a destination for individuals and families form all corners of the world seeking freedom and a better life. Their stories are not dissimilar; all were motivated by a desire to overcome dire circumstances in their homelands, and did so by taking advantage of the opportunities available in urban areas of the United States. The story of each wave of immigration is a combination of simultaneous circumstances in the country of origin as well as the destination; some have referred to these as push and pull factors. These are simultaneous circumstances in both the sending and receiving country/city that cause migrants to transplant their lives from one place to another. Massey, et al. (1993) explain the need to observe immigration through the lenses of multiple disciplines in order to understand it thoroughly. That is exactly what I intend to demonstrate via my research - an understanding of the Guatemalan migration to the Boston area via the lenses of sociology, international politics, economics, and gender studies.