Changing mobility regimes and care: Central American women confronting processes of entrapment in southern Mexico

Abstract

The humanitarian crisis of Central American minor migrants in 2014 and the massive migration enforcement in Mexico during its aftermath altered the mobility of people flee-ing violence in Central America. Anti-immigration measures particularly affect women with children. Due to violence along migration routes and the lack of financial resources to migrate north, many of them must settle in southern Mexico. In this situation, access-ing formal rights through refugee protection status in Mexico becomes an important sur-vival strategy. However, this process of legalizing their immigration status requires time, knowledge, and the provision of care by other family members. This paper focuses on the experiences of refugee claimants in the southern Mexican town of Tapachula. Based on fieldwork conducted there in 2018 and drawing on earlier research from 2013 and 2014, this paper aims to analyse women’s experiences and strategies and the role of care provi-sion during this process. Findings highlight processes of re-victimization due to segment-ed labour markets and other aspects of structural and gender-based violence that impact women’s agency during this process.