OUTLETS MATTER AN ENTHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF AN ORGANIZED CLANDESTINE CHINESE IMMIGRANT SOCIAL NETWORK IN THE UNITED STATES A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School University of Missouri-Columbia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy ___________________________________________________________ By SHUDONG ZHANG Professor John Galliher, Dissertation Supervisor December 2009 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the Dissertation entitled OUTLETS MATTER AN ENTHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF AN ORGANIZED CLANDESTINE CHINESE IMMIGRANT SOCIAL NETWORK IN THE UNITED STATES Presented by Shudong Zhang, A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor John F. Galliher _____________________________________________________________ Professor Jay Gubrium _____________________________________________________________ Professor Tola O. Pearce _____________________________________________________________ Professor Wayne Brekhus Professor Edwards H. Hunvald Jr. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to all of my committee members for their time and commitment to this dissertation. I am especially thankful to my adviser Dr. John F. Galliher, whose gracious support throughout my academic years has not only enlightened me, but also allowed this project and my dream for academic achievement to become a reality. Dr. John Galliher has guided me through with valuable guidance, constant support, tolerance, and encouragement during the course of this research. It has been a very productive learning experience to work with him under his wisdom and love. Special appreciation is also extended to my committee members who provided invaluable help for me in the completion of the project and throughout my academic program: Professor Ibitola Pearce, Professor Jay Gubrium, Professor Wayne Brekhus, and Professor Edward Hunvald for their time to review my work, gave me helpful comments, and served on my committee. I want express my appreciation to Dr. Colin Wark, and all other colleagues for their insightful advice and help. Appreciations are extended to many other people who help me in this project. ii This project is dedicated to my parents, my sister and my family for their love, support, and inspiration. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………….…ii ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………vi I. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………1 Problem Statement………………………………………………………....1 Background…………………………………………………………….…..3 Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………...15 Research Questions……………………………………………………….16 Significance of the Study…………………………………………………18 Outline of Research Methods…………………………………………......20 Chapter Summary…………………………………………………………21 II. REVIEW OF THE LETERATURE…………………………………...…23 Overview……………………………………………………………….…23 The history of Chinese immigration in the US……………………….…..23 The current status of Chinese immigrants………………………….…….25 The landmark case of Golden Venture…………………………………...29 Theoretical Frameworks………………………………………………….30 III. DATA, PORPOSED RESEARCH MODEL, AND METHODOLOGY..40 Overview: Data Sources, Data Collection, and Analysis………………...40 Interviews and Field Trips………………………………………………..41 Research Data, Method Design and Methodology……………………….43 Site Selection, Subject Selection, Data Collection, Subject Protection…..43 Representativeness and Reliability………………………………………..46 iv Secondary Sources of Data ……………………..………………..……..48 IV. AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF CHICAGO‘S LABOR PLACES...48 V. FINDINGS……………………………………………….……………...54 Introduction of Findings...………………………………...…………….55 Discussion of Findings………………………………………………….55 Summary of Study Findings……………………………………………74 VI. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………75 VII. IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND FUTURE STUDIES……....77 Sample Size and Representativeness…………………………….……...77 Study Limitations and Future Studies…………………………….……..77 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………..….80 APPENDIXES………………………………………………………..….….89 A: In-depth Interview Core Questions……………………...…….…..89 B: Cast of characters…………………………………………………..…90 C: Transcript of Interviews (16 subjects) & (Representative Narratives)……………………………………………………………….…....92 VITA……………………………………………………………………....100 v OUTLETS MATTER AN ENTHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF AN ORGANIZED CLANDESTINE CHINESE IMMIGRANT SOCIAL NETWORK IN THE UNITED STATES Shudong Zhang Dr. John Galliher, Dissertation Supervisor Abstract Recent government statistics shows an astonishing figure of illegal Chinese workers coming into the US every year. Reportedly, it represents only a portion of the Chinese illegally residing in the United States. There exist multiple layers of barriers, such as the Pacific Ocean and other cultural and language obstacles. The question would be why, how, and who kept coming? The ethnographic study of Chinese workers is to reveal the patterns of social network that has been operating well in the process. The network is a broader sense network from societal level, including three dimensions: nodes, ties and outlets. The network must also be treated as the mediator for economic incentive in order to fully understand illegal Chinese immigration in the US. The study also finds that cultural and network patterns are the most important determinant of the illegal Chinese Immigrant to US. A social network analysis exhibits that the network structure is so special and encompasses at least four key outlets in the system. vi These findings have important theoretical and practical implications. The research contributes to the theoretical development in light of discovering a unique three dimensional network pattern within Chinese ethnic immigrants‘ culture, different from the universally accepted traditional two elements network analysis-either in a ―whole ecological network‖, or an ―egocentric network‖. In practice, the study findings strongly suggest the significance of such network as to immigration culture. It provides the bedrock for the whole system and gives rise to the issue of illegal immigration. Namely, if the criminal justice system cuts the sustainable network off at any level, there would be no more illegal Chinese immigrants. The findings show specifics of the type of social network that is the fount and matrix of Chinese clandestine immigration systems. vii "I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. …We have before us many long months of toil and struggle. -Winston Churchill May 1940 I. Introduction. Statement of the Problem This dissertation will analyze the network patterns of illegal Chinese immigrants primarily in the last twenty years. In particular, it will be an attempt to present not only who are the major players in the network, but how, and why illegal Chinese have kept coming to the US in the last two decades based on it. From a sociological perspective, it will serve as an endeavor of comprehensive investigation into the complex issue of illegal immigration, social networking, and ethnic culture. My analyses are premised on three types of data sources. Two are primary sources, and one is secondary source. The primaries include in-depth interviews with sixteen Chinese immigrants currently living in the US. They all came to the States without proper documentation, namely they entered the states illegally, but have all obtained legal status after going through successful immigration legal proceeding. The other primary data come out of my participant observation of several labor markets inside Chinatown at the cities where I focused my research. I paid several visits to these fields specifically to collect the data. The secondary data are ―mass media‖ sources. They include numerous newspaper articles about Chinese illegal immigration in New York Times dated during the last two decades. 1 The basic research question is: what is it that is special about illegal Chinese immigration, who are the major players in the network, and why and how have they kept coming to the US? In researching the primary data I intend to track individual‘s life experience as to what has to be told and what can be discovered. Through their narratives and my observation in the field my primary goal is to flesh out cultural patterns of illegal Chinese immigration in the last twenty years. The time period was chosen because it is the span in which most Chinese illegal immigrations occur.1 The year 1989 was a landmark year for China, as well as to the western world. It was in the year that Tiananmen Square Protest2 for democracy was bloodily cracked down by the Party. However, it did echo the call for reformative policy and tear open the gate to a period of time when the Chinese people escaped ―the Caged Era‖3 (1949-1978), broke through ―the Gated Era‖4 (1978-1989), and entered into ―the Open-Door Era‖5 (1989-2009) with gradual but steady increase of 1 Statistics from previous researchers estimated around 300,000 Chinese were smuggled into US from 1991-2000, among which about half entered during one three-year period in 1991, 1992, and 1993. Other sources, including those in the US intelligence community put the estimate at around 30,000 a year. 2 Tiananmen Square protest for democracy erupted in 1989 and created a period of political confrontation between the Party and the public. The movement was rapidly cracked down by the Party. But it did gradually change the political and economic culture in China since then. For details please see: Tiananmen