Understanding the experiences of second-generation youth and their identities in the United States is crucial, given the diverse cultural backgrounds of children born to immigrant parents. This research topic gains significance due to the substantial population of Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. Second-generation Americans navigate the complexities of balancing multiple cultural identities, making it imperative to delve into their experiences. By analyzing scholarly articles and personal narratives, this paper aims to explore the following key themes: identity formation and cultural belonging, challenges …show more content…
This article dives into the narratives, experiences, and perspectives of second-generation Mexican teenagers living in San Diego during a period of heightened immigration debates and protests in 2006. Taking into account the experiences of second-generation youth and the impact of immigration policies on the identities and social belonging of immigrant families as a whole. This article also observed how the characterization of their family members as criminals impacts their anxieties–both personal and public–about their immigrant social belonging. It is important to know that the lived experiences of immigrants fail to fit into a specific model and it is important that they are moving towards a more inclusive construct, one that looks at all lived experiences. Getrich observed that research was mostly focused on adult immigrants, but few scholars had investigated the lived experiences of second-generation youth. These younger generations struggle with their social identity and belonging and have been portrayed as “ill-defined partial membership” or “semi-citizenship”. This author states that it is essential to discern how groups of second-generation youth understand and experience citizenship and their sense of belonging. This article is useful to research because it takes into account the perspective of second-generation youth who navigate through life with the struggle to understand their sense of social belonging. My main takeaways from this article are the stories of the youth mentioned in the article and how they feel like targets of anti-immigrant attacks even though they belong to the U.S. by citizenship. Their experiences shed light on the many stories of other second-generation youth who struggle with their identity and belonging. Not only is the article focused on their experiences as second-generation youth, but it also takes into