“Impossible Families”: Mixed‐Citizenship Status Couples and the Law

Keywords

mixed-citizenship, immigration law, citizenship status

Abstract

This article explores the complex and contradictory relationship between citizenship in the law and the immigrant reality of mixed‐citizenship family life through in‐depth interviews with individuals in mixed‐citizenship marriages. An examination of mixed‐citizenship marriage exposes the inadequacies of approaching citizenship as an individual‐centered concept. The data indicate that, though both immigration and citizenship laws focus on the individual, the repercussions of those laws have family‐level effects. Because of their spouses' immigrant status, many citizens are obliged by the law to live the immigrant experience in their own country or to become immigrants themselves.

Original Publication Citation

López, Jane Lilly. 2015. “Impossible Families: Mixed-Citizenship Status Couples and the Law.” Law & Policy 37(1-2): 93-118.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2015-03-09

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5560

Publisher

Law & Policy

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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