Uprooted: Identity and illegality among return migrants in Mexico

Heidy Sarabia

doi:10.32870/cer.v0i120.7083

Heidy Sarabia California State University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1700-0811

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32870/cer.v0i120.7083

Palabras clave: Migrantes retornados, México, ilegalidad, ciudadanía, identidad.

Resumen

Este artículo analiza las experiencias de migrantes mexicanos que llega- ron como niños a los Estados Unidos, pero regresaron a México como adultos jóvenes, y muestra cómo las identidades estatales y nacionales son moldeadas por los contextos culturales y legales de recepción tanto en los Estados Unidos como en México. En los Estados Unidos, su identidad nacional como “americanos” se logra a través del proceso de socializa- ción, pero su relación con el estado es determinada por su estatus legal. Mientras que, en México, su relación con el estado es informada por su condición de ciudadanos, pero su identidad nacional es complicada por su falta de conocimiento de la cultura mexicana. Las identidades nacio- nales y estatales fragmentadas, tanto en Estados Unidos como en México, configuran las experiencias de reincorporación de estos migrantes como “mexicanos americanizados” en México. Este artículo se basa en entrevistas y observaciones recogidas en Mexicali, Baja California, México, entre julio de 2009 y agosto de 2010.

Biografía del autor/a

Heidy Sarabia, California State University

Asistant profesor –Department of Sociology, California State University Sacramento

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