The author considers the term «migrant» to discuss the possibility and legitimacy of defining immigrants solely on the basis of a static cultural affiliation. The logic of alien worlds that meet, or clash, doesn’t help to settle problems that emerge from day to day relations. The construction of individual or group identity is a process that comes up against the complexity of the modern world, as discerned from migrants’ testimonies: stratified and changeable identities, aspirations and dreams that transcend both the traditional world of the homeland and the mass culture of industrialised countries.only subscribers can see the full article

The article draws on the recent regularisation to illustrate the importance of ethnic networks in insertion processes of immigrant workers. It is claimed that the importance of migratory networks is exalted by the reluctance of public policies for immigration management and by trends in the contemporary labour market. From this consideration, forms of «ethnic specialisation» are derived, which should not always be interpreted negatively as the alternative would be even more serious forms of social exclusion of immigrant workers. Finally, it illustrates network construction and ethical identification phenomena as the outcome of social construction processes in which endogenous dynamics of immigrant populations come up against stereotypes and prejudices of the host society, producing reciprocal reinforcement effects.only subscribers can see the full article