From Strangers to Community Members: The Settlement Experiences of Mexican American Farmworkers in Michigan.

Persistent poverty and economic needs pushed Mexican and Mexican American farmworkers to migrate to Michigan for seasonal work throughout the twentieth century. Some of these farmworkers, after years of migrant work, decided to "settle out" of the migrant stream in Michigan. Why did they make this choice, and what challenges did they experience as strangers, or newcomers, in Michigan cities? To tackle these questions, we analyzed oral history interviews from the Oral History of Latinos in Michigan Project at the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University. Analysis of interviews with Mexicans and Mexican Americans fifty years of age and older gives voice to their experiences settling out of the migrant stream, settling down in Michigan cities, and settling into their new communities as they transitioned from strangers to community members. Participants recount their life experiences regarding their reasons for leaving the migrant stream, the struggles and the processes of exclusion and integration experienced as they made their homes in Michigan, and how financial hardships, social networks, language, racial discrimination, and other factors influenced their social integration as newcomers in Michigan cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]