The integration paradox: contrasting patterns in adaptation among immigrant children in Central New Jersey

I report findings from research conducted among immigrant children and children of immigrants in Princeton and Trenton, New Jersey—including unaccompanied minors and those protected by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). On the basis of participant observation and extended interviews, I investigate the role played by human and financial resources, advocacy organizations, kin and friendship networks, and religiosity in the capacity of young people to resist downward mobility. Demographic factors and class-related dynamics prove to be decisive factors shaping the self-image of immigrant children. The paper provides a theoretical framework accounting for variations in young people’s power to adjust in hostile environments.