A Reluctance to Naturalize

Social Factors among Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Abstract

Although Mexicans are one of the major groups of recent legal immigrants into the United States, their reluctance to naturalize has been apparent in statistics and surveys. Not only geographical proximity to their home country and obstacles in bureaucracy, but also their sense of belonging to Mexico and discrimination in American society prevent them from taking the step toward naturalization. It illustrates that even with today's transnational trend of migration, the norm of belonging to a specific nation has considerable influence on individuals. One can also speculate that a massive presence of non-citizens demands the existing nation-state to change.