Lives Rebuilt: The Challenges of Reintegration for Returning Mexican Migrants
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2023
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Dark Archive until 2028-01-01, afterwards Tri-College users only
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Abstract
In the last decade or so, the net flow of migrants between Mexico and the US shifted. Starting in 2007, the number of Mexicans leaving the United States outnumbered those who were entering. This population faces inordinate challenges upon return to Mexico, including finding jobs, establishing social networks, learning cultural norms, and politically organizing. Despite these challenges and the growing number of returning migrants, there is a paucity of programs and academic scholarship addressing this issue. The central question that this thesis explores is: why are the challenges of reintegration more difficult than initial integration for returning migrants? This raises a subsidiary question: what facilitates and what constrains reintegration for returning immigrants? My research is at once inductive and deductive, drawing on both original research and existing theories of integration. I conducted nine semi-structured interviews in spring 2023. Interviews focused on a wide range of issues upon return, including experiences in work and school, social and familial relationships, feelings of belonging, and political hopes in Mexico. Ultimately, the answer to my research question is layered and complex. I argue that reintegration to Mexico poses more challenges for returning migrants than their integration to the United States due to a series of overlapping structural, social, cultural, and psychological factors, made worse by the nature of an involuntary or unexpected return to Mexico. The challenges of reintegration themselves hinder political mobilization that would otherwise allow for returnees to improve conditions of reintegration. Comparison and expectations play a key role in reintegration, as the involuntary or unexpected nature of return primes returnees negatively for their adjustment and involves much reflection on what paths their life would have taken had they remained in the United States.