The American dream in a transnational migratory circuit

Abstract

The objective of this article is to explore how the idea of the American dream affects the discourse, relationships and imaginaries of the members of an emerging migratory circuit with transnational characteristics. Transnational social imaginary is proposed as the analytical tool constructed from social imaginaries and transnationalism in order to investigate the social imaginary meanings of the participants. Using a qualitative methodology, interviews and observations were conducted in Kansas (United States) and in Tres Valles (Mexico). One of the conclusions is that the idea of the American dream has been built from the experiences of the emigrants, encouraging the flow of people to the north. Nevertheless, the idea of the American dream is increasingly being questioned as the migrants realized that achieving this dream is not as simple as they had imagined.