The term “transmigrants” are given to immigrants who have multiple identities. This means that they reside in one country and is engulfed in that country’s economy and politics but also have connections in another country. The meaning of transnational has changed over time. It was first used to describe corporate structures that had roots in more than one state. Then it was used to describe political ideas that spread through various borders. Today we use transnational is used to describe a particular form of migrating, transnational migration. Transnational migration is described as a process where people develop coexisting relations to their country of origin and the country that they are residing in.
The reason for transnational migration can be contributed to many factors including the country or the people. One reason is instability. The place of settlement and the country of origin both have damaged economic conditions. Therefore, transmigrants don’t have a place to settle economically. Another reason is racism. Racism causes transmigrants to feel insecure about their identity in a particular country. They are pressured to assimilate but at the same time shunned because of their race. The last reason is nationalism. Transmigrants are pressured in one country to maintain allegiance but also pressured in another country to do the same. This causes transmigrant to question which side to pick so they choose none. Transmigrant can be described as in between two countries.
Transnational migration can be linked to nation states. Nation states were created to maintain the state’s powers. Each nation state has its own government and the citizens of the nation states are forced to be loyal. This is similar to past immigrants who were forced to give up their past lives to start a new one. For example, immigrants coming into America were forced to be Americanized. This meant that it was unacceptable for immigrants to maintain ties to their homeland. However, many immigrants still do this anyway. Transnational migration can be beneficial to a country. For example in Greece, the dispersed population contributed to developing educational institutions such as libraries, universities, academy, etc. Even the poor families contributed to the development of these institutions. These transmigrants did not consider themselves as Greek but instead viewed “Greece as a state with its own autonomous identity.”
There are some transmigrants who constantly go back to their country of origin even though they have a home and business where they settled. In doing this, it is harder to maintain everything because there are pieces everywhere. So, instead of going back to the country of origin to maintain a business, transmigrants often just invest in properties or businesses in their homeland. There is also another interesting situation that is used by transmigrants. This is called a family network. Transmigrants spread their family throughout multiple countries. This way the family is able to “maximize the utilization of labor and resources in multiple settings and survive within situations of economic uncertainty and subordination.” When transmigrants use the family network, this helps further the family’s social and economic positions because there is always jobs available due to the family connection.
In conclusion, the term immigrants has been modified to become transmigrant because many immigrants today do not fully forget their past and start a new life. Instead they hold onto the past and further their life in the country of choice. This is linked to many factors including distrust in a particular country’s political and economic system or simply racism. Transmigrants are in between two places because they feel that it would benefit them more. This is true when factoring in multiple investments and the kin network that spreads through various countries. Overall, transmigrants play a hidden role in influencing a country’s political and economic systems.
