The Power of Advocacy: (Re)Claiming the Stories of Deported Mexican Mothers and Their Transnational Children

• In Event: Intercultural Perspectives on Education

Abstract

Women make up more than half of all immigrants due to the U.S.’s dependence on the labor of immigrant women and women of color (Donato & Gabaccia, 2016). Consequently, U.S.-born children are now at greater risk of having their parents, mothers, and/or family members deported, and, in many cases, they risk moving back to Mexico with their deported parents. The findings in this study examine deportation narratives, how mothers adjust to life back in Mexico, and how they revalidated their legal status in Mexico for themselves and their children to access educational and job opportunities. This paper concludes with recommendations for binational immigration and education policies and practices.

Authors

• Sandra Candel, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Norma A Marrun, University of Nevada - Las Vegas