Cruzando el Puente: Transfronterizx Students' Connections to Their Binational Communities

• In Event: Crossing the U.S.-Mexico Border for an Education: Portrayals of Complexity and Intersectionality Among Transfronterizx Students

Abstract

This study interprets data provided in interviews with eight transfronterizx students to uncover themes of connectedness displayed within their transnational communities. Transfronterizx students are those who cross the border on a regular basis for the purpose of attending school in the U.S. By examining the participants’ border crossing practices through the theoretical lens of transnational social fields (Levitt & Schiller, 2004), it became clear that quotidian transfronterizx practices created distinct experiences of connecting to others who shared in the transfronterizx narrative as well as with the international bridge community itself. This paper helps to expand the limited body of literature available related to transfronterizx students and informs educators and policymakers whose decisions weight heavily on this group of students.

Author

• Laura Salazar, The University of Texas - El Paso