Exploring Diversity in Immigrant Assimilation and Transnationalism: The Case of Poles and Russian Jews in Philadelphia

This article investigates different patterns of coexistence of assimilation and transnational engagements (A/T) among recent Polish and Jewish Russian immigrants in Philadelphia and the particular constellations of circumstances that generate these outcomes. It then integrates this analysis into a broader comparative examination of the simultaneity of A/T among residentially dispersed Asian Indians, first-wave Cubans in Miami, and Jamaicans, undocumented Chinese, and Dominicans in New York. The main factors shaping the most common A/T patterns in these seven immigrant groups at the global, sending and receiving society national, and local levels are identified.