Living Sin Papeles

Abstract

In the United States, the construction of “illegality” of undocumented Latino workers is predicated upon multiple interacting social, economic, political, and sociological factors and consignment to an inferior social status, harsh living conditions, and exploitation. These “cumulative vulnerabilities” contribute to increased stressors and poor psychological health outcomes. However, little is known about these marginalized workers’ experience of negotiating life in “illegality.” This qualitative study adopts a social constructivist perspective to examine the strategies these undocumented workers use to manage “illegality” and psychosocial stress. We conducted four focus groups with 27 participants and in-depth interviews with eight of these participants. Thematic analysis combined with constant comparison yielded the overarching theme of living sin papeles (without legal papers). Findings reveal that, phenomenologically, sin papeles extends far beyond legal status, being a condition of ever-present instability, insecurity, and hypervigilance that affects the social, work, health, and living conditions of undocumented Latino immigrants.