From the Personal to the Political: Transborder Students' Migration Literacy Between the United States, Mexico, and Beyond

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Borderlands Biliteracies: Centering Education on the Realities of Transfronterizx Communities (Table 12)

Abstract

Objectives
The number of Mexican-origin people living in the US and returning to Mexico outpaced the numbers of Mexicans coming into the US between 2009-2014 (Gonzalez-Barrera, 2015). This study centers young people’s political understanding that stem from their multi-faceted experiences crossing physical and metaphorical borders.

Theoretical Framework
The impetus to migrate has been typically and incompletely described as either voluntary or involuntary (Espindola & Jacobo-Suárez, 2018; Medina & Menjivar, 2015). To provide more nuance to the myriad of reasons families return to their country of origin, I have created a continuum that lays out four categories that range from the most externally imposed to completely internal motivations to return. The most discussed form of return migration is deportation. This is followed by coercion, which stems from the consequences of anti-immigrant polices that oppress undocumented immigrants, and disproportionally impact people of color. Next, refusal shares the same root causes as coercion, but it is a considered stance and conscious decision to remove oneself from oppressive forces. Finally, free will or a choice that is made in the absence of external forces and policies. The category of return plays heavily into how one comes to terms with the role of governments when it comes to their belonging, deservedness, and ability to live freely and with dignity (Patel, 2015).

Methods & Data Sources
This qualitative study was conducted to understand the experiences of transborder children and youth and the policies that drastically impact their lives. The study explored the realities and perspectives of these young people by asking: How do US-born or raised children and youth in Mexico make sense of their border crossing experiences? A range of methods were used to gain a holistic understanding of the students' lives and the factors that shape their border crossings. The study consisted of interviews, artifacts, observations, and photography that came together in words, artwork, poetry, and images to show the views of students moving across borders at the elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels (Bagnoli, 2009; Lutrell, 2000)
.
Results
Transborder students’ struggles across countries have led them to become what Heidbrink calls “experts by experience” (2020, p. 66). They are in a state of Nepantla, “a space where you are not this or that but where you are changing. You haven't gotten into the new identity yet and haven't left the old identity behind either - you are in a kind of transition... you are in the midst of transformation (Anzaldúa, 2012, p. 276). Simultaneously, their in-depth understanding of the realities of being undocumented immigrants in the US, have led them to understand the impact of white supremacy, xenophobia, and dehumanizing anti-immigrant policies that require people to live under constant fear and surveillance.

Scholarly Significance
While two million students have lived in both Mexico and the US, there are nine million Mexican-origin “students we share” between the US and Mexico (Gándara & Jensen, 2021). There is an urgent need to create humane policies and equitable pedagogical practices for these students and those to come.

Author

• Tatyana Kleyn, City College of New York - CUNY
  Presenting Author