Seeking education and asylum: Llegadxs and retornadxs (Arrivals and returnees) in Central America and the US
PERIOD:
TO
In the face of massive, cross-border movement across the Central America-US nexus, including im/migration, voluntary, and (increasingly) forced “return,” what role do schools play in shaping young people’s understandings of migration and in upholding migrant youths’ right to education while in transit?
This study draws on ethnographic observations in schools, migrant shelters, reception centers, and communities across three national contexts to explore how young people make meaning of spatial mobility as it relates to their educational opportunities. It traces formal and informal educational experiences of youth in transit from Honduras, their country of origin, through Mexico, while seeking asylum in the US, and navigating return, accounting for multiple settings and processes through which young people learn. Outside of school, cross-border movement and transit are conceived as sites for informal, adaptive learning, through which young people develop and revise their evolving understandings of citizenship, rights, and belonging. This study aims to document young people’s motivations and the resources and strategies they draw on as they navigate educational disruptions within and across borders. A deeper understanding of migrant young people’s learning trajectories in contexts of origin, destination, transit, and return will inform policy and practice aimed at improving educational continuity and inclusion.
