The Road to Return: Children’s Experiences of (Un)Anticipated US Departure

• In Event: International Migration Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 13. Return migration / migration to Mexico

Abstract

Since 2009, more Mexican nationals have left the United States than entered, yet scholarship on return migration overwhelmingly centers on adult experiences. This paper addresses a critical gap by examining how children experience the period between learning of their return to Mexico and actually crossing the border, an emotionally formative yet understudied transition with significant implications for subsequent (re)integration. Drawing on 98 qualitative interviews conducted in Oaxaca and Jalisco, Mexico, between 2022 and 2023, the sample includes young return migrants (ages 13–32 at the time of interview), the majority of whom returned as children. I examine how parents’ motivations for return, whether planned, compelled, or forced through deportation, shape children’s emotional experiences of departure. The sample includes 60 U.S.-born respondents and 38 members of the 1.5 generation who lived undocumented in the U.S. as children. I argue that parents’ reasons for return directly impact children’s experiences of return, but also indirectly impact children’s experiences through two pathways: whether families are able to prepare children for their return and the degree of agency children are afforded in the decision to return, all within the structural constraints of the US immigration system. I find that preparation, including discussions about expectations, language instruction, and cultural orientation, significantly impacts children’s psychological adjustment and sense of security during this often traumatic transition. Prepared children experience less anxiety and greater resilience compared to those thrust into unfamiliar situations without warning. Agency, the degree to which children are included in family discussions and have their preferences acknowledged, varies considerably by age, legal status, and family circumstance. For undocumented children, the decision to return is further complicated by constrained options, and family conversations about return often mark the moment children first learn of their legal status and its implications for belonging and opportunity in both countries. These findings contribute to scholarship on return migration, children and immigration, and the sociology of emotions by centering children as distinct social actors whose experiences of departure are shaped by structural forces, family dynamics, and developmental stage. Understanding this anticipatory period is essential for supporting children’s long-term adjustment and well-being upon return.

Author

• Adriana P. Ramirez, University of California-Berkeley