Family Life Course Theory: Illegal Immigrants in the USA Essay Example

When we talk about family life course theory we are looking at a theory that is concerned with the interconnections that are there in family relationships within exact socio-historical and geographical contexts. The theory looks at how these come up to shape the life course of an individual. Looking at family, we can say that it is a term that has been defined across history as well as cultures (Vesely, et al., 2014). The family life theory takes into consideration the development or chronological age, how the life was, how the individual related with others, and the what contributed to the life trajectory of the individual in terms of socio-historical changes. The micro- and macro-levels of the environment that the individual is in is connected through aspects like time which is looked at like the components of individual development, family time which is very important as well as looking at the socio-historical time (Vesely, et al., 2014). This theory tackles the issue of time which is something that can be thought of as multi-dimensional and relates very well with chronological spaces; we can use it to understand migration experiences for people who are considered illegal immigrants. We have many concepts ion family life theory that can be used as a basis of trying to understand the experiences.

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In the video by Jose who is an illegal immigrant, we can pick out a few concepts from the family life course theory and apply them life course theory has several concepts that we can seek to understand in order to rebuild the issue of illegal migrants. One of the most important concepts is linked to lives. This concept highlights the connection in the lives of individual family members and also looking at the historical context (Vesely, et al., 2014). This translates to mean that the developmental trajectories of the family members are somehow interdependent and to some extent, they are shaped by each other in addition to being shaped by social and historical influences. The grandfather in the video did all he could to bring his grandson to America after working as a security guard only for the grandchild to learn later that the green card his grandfather got for him was fake. This meant that he would be classified as an illegal alien. Through this illegal green card that he got, he became part of the big population of illegal immigrants. Because the grandfather went to the USA he also wanted his eldest grandson to follow him so that he could become like him. This connection earned him the illegal immigrant tag because of the fake green card.

The second concept is time and place that looks at how lives are shaped by the place and time in the socio-historical context (Vesely, et al., 2014). After the grandfather went to America he had to do everything to get his eldest grandchild to America. Looking at the time and where he did it explains the full course that lives are usually shaped by the two in terms of socio-historical contexts. We have to look at the policies at the time that it was happening and looking and Jose's case he came to America in 1993 at the time when the policies were not that stringent. When he came he knew that he had a legit green card only to learn later about its fakeness. There were some impacts as at those time there were no such issues that were revolving around illegal immigrants at all. This means that he could not realize easier that the green card was fake at that time.

The third concept of family life course theory is the human agency which means that in life it is individuals that actively make decisions that shape the course of their lives and the lives in general (Vesely, et al., 2014). Jose chose to come out and accept that he is an illegal immigrant and this worked so much. He decided to actively get involved in the course of his life by writing in the different newspapers and seeking the voice as an illegal immigrant. This means that he had accepted and decided that he will change his own situation and the course of his life. He did not wait for anybody to shape his life but he did it himself and by this, there were some issues to do with asserting his space as an illegal immigrant.

The other concept is the turning point that talks about events in life that expand or reduce opportunities. Through the actions of Jose, he expanded his opportunities although coming out made him sometimes reduce his opportunities. This concept looks at bringing a permanent change to the individual's ecosystem as well as changing the individual's concept (Vesely, et al., 2014). Through the immigration, Jose's grandfather brought in some opportunities to him and when he went to America things changed with the expanded opportunities. When he decides to start writing about himself as illegal immigrant things changed as he went to different states in the USA. Through this change, we see that there were many opportunities to look for more changes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the family life course theory is a good starting point for highlighting the interconnectedness of family and individuals. The theory tries to understand the development of individuals subject to time and space and the impacts that lives have. In order to document the issues in family value and their importance, family life course theory offers concepts that bring in more understanding.

References

Actions are illegal, never people | Jose Antonio Vargas | TEDxMidAtlantic. (2012). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmz9cCF0KNE

Vesely, C. K., Goodman, R. D., & Scurlock, S. (2014). TURNING POINTS AND TRANSITIONS: THE ROLE OF FAMILY IN WOMEN'S IMMIGRATION EXPERIENCES. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 5(2), 308-331.