A study of migrant shelters, violence, and deportation on the Texas-Tamaulipas border.
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The rapid increase in deportations during the last decade and the “war on drugs” happening in Mexico, has provided an interesting avenue to analyze the experiences and resources deportees have in Mexico after deportation.
I investigate the intersection between mass deportation and border violence. Paying attention to how immigrants deported on the Texas-Tamaulipas border live their repatriation process. My research demonstrates the consequences of violence on Mexican deportees, who are constantly experiencing fear, a sentiment of restricted liberty, and lack of agency.
“I never crossed the border; my parents crossed me. I was nine when I arrived in Minnesota, and I have been living there since then. My language is English. I do not know Mexico. When I knew I was going to be deported through this border, I was petrified. I do not know anybody here. ”
—Raul, Mexican deportee
“In this region [Tamaulipas] the only ones who are organized are them [the cartels]. Nor the police, not the government, not even us. They know what they are doing and their system works.”