Uncovering Complexities in Cultural Citizenship Among Transfronterizx Students on the U.S.-Mexico Border

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

Abstract

In reference to the phenomenological interviews of two transfronterizx students at a university on the U.S.-Mexico border, this study focuses on the topic of citizenship and the complex issues they experience as they pursue their education. The category of citizenship is not simply the fact that a person is a citizen of one country or another. Citizenship is also about ethnicity, language, and strategies used to assimilate transnational spaces. (Mirón, L., Daider, A., & Inda, J.X., 2005). The students’ stories indicate that just the fact of being a U.S. citizen does not guarantee smooth sailing through the educational system in either country. They described their feelings of belonging, as U.S. citizens, and not belonging because of the barriers they faced.

Author

• Yolanda D. Castro, The University of Texas- El Paso