I am working on a series of projects focused on the politics of return migration from the U.S. to Mexico, migration governance in Mexico, and how illicit groups shape migration patterns across Central and North America.
Book Project
My book project, Back to the Homeland: Returnees, Deportees, and Nation-State Building in Mexico, explores how the Mexican government has managed flows of return migration and deportation from the United States over time. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Mexico and the United States—including archival research, ethnography, and interviews—the project traces Mexico’s relationship with return migration and deportation and shows how the Mexican government has advanced notions of nation-state building through the management of these processes. In particular, it demonstrates how returnees and deportees have been key actors in enabling the Mexican government to cultivate and advance regional political development, diplomatic relations with the United States, and cultivate its image of solidarity towards its diaspora.
Disaggregating Mexico’s Migration Governance: Towards New Concepts and Frameworks
What does migration governance look like in Mexico—a country that is simultaneously a site of transit migration, refuge, immigration, and return migration? This project unpacks how and why Mexico’s governance preferences vary across different migration flows. By centering and analyzing this variation, the project proposes new concepts and approaches to studying the politics that shape Mexico’s migration governance and the types of policies the government adopts. It seeks to move beyond border externalization explanations and instead pushes scholars to examine the different actors, processes, and competing interests shaping the scope and implementation of migration governance in Mexico, as well as its implications for citizens and non-citizens.
Illicit Groups and Mobility Across Central America, Mexico, and the U.S.
How do illicit groups shape migration flows and migration governance across Central America, Mexico, and the U.S.? This project is divided into two parts. The first part identifies which illicit groups influence migration flows and how. The second part theorizes the relationship between illicit groups, migration, and politics.