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This volume focuses on recent experiences of return migration to Mexico and Central America from the United States. For most of the twentieth century, return migration to the US was a normal part of the migration process from Mexico and Central America, typically resulting in the eventual permanent settlement of migrants in the US. In recent years, however, such migration has become involuntary, as a growing proportion of return migration is taking place through formal orders of deportation. This book discusses return migration to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, addressing different reasons for return, whether voluntary or involuntary, and highlighting the unique challenges faced by returnees to each region. Particular emphasis is placed on the lack of government and institutional policies in place for returning migrants who wish to attain work, training, or shelter in their home countries. Finally, the authors take a look at the phenomenon of migrants who can never return because they have disappeared during the migration process. Through its multinational focus, diverse thematic outlook, and use of ethnographic and survey methods, this volume provides an original contribution to the topic of return migration and broadens the scope of the literature currently available. As such, this book will be important to scholars and students interested in immigration policy and Latin America as well as policy makers and activists.
List of contents
Part 1. Introduction.- Chapter 1. Voluntary and Forced Return Migration.- Chapter 2. Migration Times and Ethnic Identity: Mexican Migration to the United States Over Three Generations.- Part 2. Voluntary and Non-Voluntary Return.- Chapter 3. From Mexico to Hawaii: Tracing the Migration History of One Family in Sabinilla, Jalisco.- Chapter 4. Driven "Home": Stories of Voluntary and Involuntary Reasons for Return among Migrants in Jalisco and Oaxaca, Mexico.-Chapter 5. Return Migrants and Potential Challenges for Future Legal Migration: Guatemalan Cases.- Part 3: Deportation.- Chapter 6. Fragmented Identities: Contentions of Space and Identity among Salvadoran Deportees.- Chapter 7. Trapped at the Border: The Difficult Integration of Deportees in Tijuana.- Chapter 8. Displacing Lives and Closing Pathways to Hope: The Health Impacts of Deportation and Return Migration in El Progreso, Honduras.- Part 4. The New Disappeared.- Chapter 9. Never to Return: The New Disappeared of El Salvador.- Bibliography.- Index.
Summary
This volume focuses on recent experiences of return migration to Mexico and Central America from the United States. For most of the twentieth century, return migration to the US was a normal part of the migration process from Mexico and Central America, typically resulting in the eventual permanent settlement of migrants in the US. In recent years, however, such migration has become involuntary, as a growing proportion of return migration is taking place through formal orders of deportation. This book discusses return migration to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, addressing different reasons for return, whether voluntary or involuntary, and highlighting the unique challenges faced by returnees to each region. Particular emphasis is placed on the lack of government and institutional policies in place for returning migrants who wish to attain work, training, or shelter in their home countries. Finally, the authors take a look at the phenomenon of migrants who can never return because they have disappeared during the migration process. Through its multinational focus, diverse thematic outlook, and use of ethnographic and survey methods, this volume provides an original contribution to the topic of return migration and broadens the scope of the literature currently available. As such, this book will be important to scholars and students interested in immigration policy and Latin America as well as policy makers and activists.
