This dissertation explores the experiences of undocumented Thai immigrants in the United States, focusing on the identity shift experiences of those who have “fallen” from their high social ranking after migration. Undocumented Thai immigrants, who are usually referred to by Thai people as “Robin Hoods,” differ from undocumented immigrants from other countries to the extent that most of these individuals come from a higher socio-economic level. Yet they have “fallen” from their high social ranking after migration since they cannot maintain a social status comparable to what they held back home. Using ethnography and in-depth interviews as research methodologies, I intensively examined these individuals' experiences in terms of their identity shifts, the interplay between pre- and post-migration identities, and how these individuals communicatively negotiated and performed their identities within new cultural environment.
The study results indicate that after they chose to diminish their socio-economic status to live illegally in the U.S., these undocumented Thai immigrants were caught in a liminal state where a sense of belonging was difficult to find. These individuals struggled to maintain their dignity and self-esteem. They had to negotiate their identities and find effective communication strategies to help them become a part of their groups while trying to survive in this foreign country. This study also suggests that there are many factors that influence people's sense of self and how they interact with others. Illegal status, in fact, should not be viewed as the most important factor that affects every immigrant's sense of self after they immigrate to other countries. Each group of undocumented immigrants is unique and should not be treated as a unitary whole. Their cultural backgrounds in general and social backgrounds in particular, as is the case of Thai Robin Hoods, make undocumented immigrants from each country unique in terms of how they view themselves, as well as how they communicate about their “selves” in social relation contexts.