Voices from the Aftermath of Deportation

While the pros and cons of detention and deportation are debated widely in the United States media today, the realities of life in the aftermath of deportation are rarely mentioned. An estimated two million people have been deported or returned to Mexico under the Obama Administration, and many factors suggest that the number of detentions and deportations of people who have resided many years in the United States will only climb under the Trump Administration. Once in Mexico, bicultural youth and their families struggle with the individual, social, cultural, economic, legal, and political implications of being labeled and situated as "ni de aquí, ni de allá" ("neither here, nor there"). The struggle to be recognized as a person and a citizen with rights "de aquí y de allá" ("here and there") is ongoing, dynamic, painful, and powerful.

In this conversation, Claudia Amaro and Maggie Loredo share their experiences in Mexico after having grown up in the United States, as well as their roles as activists in the constitutional and cultural void of "the deported" and "the undocumented." Dr. Jill Anderson will talk about her research and on-going collaboration with deported and returning youth in Mexico. The conversation will contextualize United States anti-immigrant policies and discourse in terms of the transnational consequences and implications for youth and their families.