Soy de aquí, soy de allá: DACAmented homecomings and implications for identity and belonging

“It was frustrating because you want to feel like you belong. You’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to Mexico. That’s where I’m from.’ Then you go down there, and you’re really not from there.” (Andrea)

“I think one of the things that I’ve heard during this trip was this idea we’re from here, we’re from there. I think we always say ni de aquí, ni de allá [not from here, not from there], but that’s not true. We cultivate our lives in both places one way or another. … Home is the US, but Mexico is also home, but not in the way that the US is.” (Yesenia)

Abstract

This article is based on in-depth interviews with deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries from California and Arizona who traveled to Mexico, their country of origin, for the first time since they had immigrated to the US as small children. Although DACA travelers have acculturated to the US, this article begins to uncover the complexities of national identification and belonging in the US, a country that has not allowed for a legal pathway to citizenship for them. We show how visiting their homeland served to highlight their American markers of identity and their hidden privilege, as DACA travelers were often treated as foreigners while in Mexico. However, encounters with their home country and family members in their hometowns allowed for reflection and reconciliation of both their Mexican and American identities.

Resumen

Este artículo parte de entrevistas detalladas con beneficiarios de la política de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA, por sus siglas en inglés) de California y Arizona que viajaron a México, su país de origen, por primera vez desde que habían emigrado a los Estados Unidos cuando eran pequeños. Aunque los viajeros de DACA se han asimilado en la cultura estadounidense, este artículo comienza a revelar las complejidades de la identificación nacional y la pertenencia en los Estados Unidos, un país que les ha negado el camino legal a la ciudadanía. Mostramos cómo las visitas a su país natal revelaron sus marcadores de identidad americana y su privilegio oculto, ya que a los viajeros de DACA a menudo los tratan como extranjeros en México. Sin embargo, los encuentros con su país y con sus familiares en sus pueblos de origen les permitieron reflexión y reconciliación con sus identidades, tanto la mexicana la como estadounidense.