“Pa’ cuando me regrese, can we speak in English?”: Trayectorias de menores migrantes que llegan a México
Author: Betsabe Roman Gonzalez, brg384.br@gmail.com
Department: Sociology
University: Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico
Supervisor: Victor Zuniga
Year of completion: 2017
Language of dissertation: Spanish-English
Keywords:
Transnational children
, Return migration
, Educational Trajectory
, Migratory Trajectory
Areas of Research:
Migration
, Childhood
, Education
Abstract
This thesis project sought to add and complement return migration studies in Mexico. Particularly, it outlines the voice and perspective of child migrants who arrived with their parents, from the United States to Morelos, Mexico starting in 2010. As a result, the objectives were to document and classify the migratory and educational trajectories of international child migrants in Morelos, and, to document, classify, describe and analyze the types of strategies that these children build and share to integrate or reintegrate to the communities, homes and schools in Mexico upon their arrival. To elaborate on these objectives, I designed a mixed methods study, which at the same time was longitudinal and multi-sited. Through fieldwork and participant observation, I followed ten migrant children, and their families, during three years and a half, gathering data and analyzing it to design their life stories. As a result, I was able to observe trajectories that had been previously identified with transnational students in Mexico, such as return migration and bi-national trajectories; furthermore, I was able to identify new ones, those of return to the United States after living in Mexico with parents, and school dropouts. Additionally, I was able to observe and analyze additional spaces of interaction, such as the home and the community. Finally, my research allowed for further analysis of a type of child migrant, returnee to the United States, who is now part of the generation 0.5 in Mexico.
