Walking the Line: The Impact of Social Media on Border Crossing, Weak Ties, and Adaptations Among Undocumented Chinese Immigrants

This grant is funded in part by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation.
Since 2022, there has been a sharp rise in undocumented Chinese immigrants attempting to enter the U.S. by land at the southwestern border. Earlier waves of Chinese immigrants typically relied on kinship networks for migration. This newly emerging group, instead, depend heavily on social media and other information communication technologies (ICTs) to plan their journeys, navigate risk, and secure resources upon arrival. Sociologist Xiaojin Chen and criminologist Siying Guo will examine how ICTs shape the migration journeys and post-entry adaption of undocumented Chinese immigrants who enter by land from Mexico. They will analyze group chat text messages and will conduct in-depth interviews for their study.