Immigrants and elections

The Associated Press has an article about Latin American immigrants returning to their country of origin to run for office. I believe this is going to be fertile research ground for political scientists in the future. There are tons of articles about immigrant political activism in the United States, some research asking whether immigrants lobby on behalf of their home government (answer: they don't) but no analysis about how and why they decide to return home to pursue elected positions.

In general, this is a positive development for everyone. People become more involve in the political process in the U.S., and going back home they bring raised expectations about how political institutions should function.

However, there will inevitably be clashes, both with people who never migrated and therefore may see the individual as less "authentic" and also with local authorities who view him or her as a political threat. Both happened to the infamous "Tomato King" in Mexico.