Transnational Immigrants

The terms transnational immigrant, transnational migrant, or transmigrant, which are used interchangeably, refer to agents who develop and maintain multifaceted long-term social relations—familial, social, economic, organizational, political, or religious—linking their societies of origin and [Page 1620]settlement. According to this idea, migration from one society to another should not be considered as a simple transition with the migrants leaving behind home and country and merging into a host society. Rather, as they live in the society of settlement, the agents build institutions, influence events, and conduct transactions in the countries from where they once emigrated. While relying on multiple cross-border interconnections, these agents in their daily lives also engage in the economy and political institutions in the country where they reside. As a consequence, they develop ...