Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Politics and International Relations

Reader 1

Owen Brown

Reader 2

Sumita Pahwa

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© 2024 Eileen Rose E Linchangco

Abstract

This thesis examines the plight of undocumented Filipino immigrants, referred to as “TNT” or “tago nang tago” (hiding and hiding), within the context of an increasingly restrictive US immigration system. I argue that two key factors have driven more Filipinos to pursue unauthorized entry into the US since the 1980s despite heightened risks. First, US immigration policy changes enacted in the 1980s and 1990s implemented stricter numerical caps that severely limited available visas for Filipino immigrants to use legal immigration pathways into the United States. Second, enduring sociocultural constructs propagate the notion that Filipinos represent immigrant desirability for US citizenship. Caught between rising anti-immigrant legislation and persistent narratives lauding Filipino immigrant desirability, Filipino immigrants have increasingly turned to irregular and risker pathways, such as overstaying tourist visas, as a means to actualize their “American dream.” By analyzing immigration policy changes alongside ethnographic studies on Filipino immigrant discourse, I argue that conflicting forces of stricter immigration laws and enduring cultural narratives that promote Filipino immigrant desirability prompt more Filipino immigrants to opt for riskier unauthorized routes over recent decades, ultimately drawing attention to the resilience of Filipino TNTs amidst complex barriers in the US immigration system. I use this research as a platform to call out the broken system we live in, to advocate for immigration reform through policy change, and to bolster the need for community organizing efforts to foster a culture of resistance and empowerment for the undocumented Filipino TNT community.

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