How do second-generation immigrants become involved in diaspora activism? Why do some migrants develop contentious identities while others do not? Can ethnic enclaves become social movement communities? my research agenda advances scholarship on subjects and objects that have been traditionally marginalized in mainstream sociological analysis. I see myself as a sociologist who encourages sensitivity to global nuances, pushes the boundaries of knowledge, and ventures into unexplored intellectual terrain. My interests lie at the intersection of international migration, race and ethnicity, and social movements. I have been involved in numerous research projects since 2001, and I am trained in both qualitative and quantitative methods. From an empirical investigation of the discursive construction of contemporary immigration to a comparative-historical study of homeland-oriented migrant mobilization, the trajectory of my sociological inquiry focuses on both cultural and structural elements in different levels and units of analysis.