Women Who Did Not Make Their Own Decision to Immigrate

This chapter analyzes cases of Guatemalan women who did not make their own decision to immigrate to the United States and usually immigrated together with spouses or parents. Traditional immigration research assumed that men are pioneers of migration. The chapter aims to evaluate the assumption that women are merely passive followers of male authorities in the immigration process. Traditional immigration literature denies the economic contribution of immigrant wives. The dependent immigration of Guatemalan wives seems to match the common stereotype of female immigrants to immigrate for marriage reasons, to bear many children, and not to be part of an economic labor force. The following cases are further illustrations of how Guatemalan mothers decided about their daughter's immigration. The first case is an example of a family reunification and the second case is an example where a mother sends her daughter to the United States to escape to be killed in the civil war.