The Second-generation in Chile: Negotiating Identities, Rights, and Public Policy

This article presents the first study of children born in Chile to at least one migrant parent – the “second-generation”. Based on a mixed methods and child-centred approach, this article discusses institutional and experiential aspects of boundary and identity-making in Chile regarding race and nationality. We first review quantitative data from the state regarding the second-generation. Building on insights from comparative research on European states second-generation integration policies, we suggest how gathering targeted Census data in Chile can inform the long-term evaluation of state policies and programs for socio-cultural inclusion in education and labour. We also present qualitative data from interviews with ten second-generation children between ages eight to thirteen, born to parents from Peru and Ecuador. We attend to how they negotiate being perceived as “foreign” and/or “Chilean”. Their position in-between the two categories is an important starting point for policies and discourse to expand notions of citizenship and belonging.