Bienvenidos a Casa? Deportation and the Making of Home in the U.S.-El Salvador Transnation

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE ¿Bienvenidos a Casa? Deportation and the Making of Home in the U.S.-El Salvador Transnation DISSERTATION Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Sociology by Mary Kathleen Dingeman-Cerda Dissertation Committee: Professor Rubén G. Rumbaut, Chair Professor Jennifer Lee Professor Susan Bibler Coutin 2014 © Mary Kathleen Dingeman-Cerda DEDICATION ‘Who are all those friends, all scattered like dry leaves?’ - Woody Guthrie "Deportee" (also known as Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) This dissertation is dedicated to all of the migrants whose lives are forgotten and voices are silenced by our contemporary deportation machinery. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF TABLES vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii CURRICULUM VITAE xii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION CHAPTER 1 A Nation of Immigrants to Deportation Nation 1 The Deportation Regime 3 The Legal Construction of Immigrant ‘Illegality’ 6 The Construction of the Deportation Regime 10 A Regime in Decline? 21 Deportation and its Discontents 23 Overview of this Dissertation 27 CHAPTER 2 The Im-Possibilities of Return 35 Journeying, Looking Back, and the Pull toward the “Homeland” 39 Return Home as Im-Possible 41 Post-Deportation Homecomings 44 Return Migrant Embeddedness 50 A Model of Post-Deportation Embeddedness 52 Post-Deportation Trajectories 69 CHAPTER 3 The Salvadoran Case 71 The Context of Exit 74 The Context of Reception 88 Deportation of Salvadorans 96 The Context of Return 98 CHAPTER 4 Methods and Reflections 104 Data Collection 106 Negotiating Participation 109 iii Study Administration 112 The Negotiation of Difference 115 Risk, Uncertainty, and the Termination of Data Collection 119 Data Analysis 123 CHAPTER 5 Divergent Post-Deportation Trajectories 126 Portrait of the Sample 129 Three Key Post-Deportation Trajectories 140 CHAPTER 6 Hermano, Bienvenido a Casa 152 The Migratory Journey 153 Life in the U.S. 156 Ambivalent Returns 160 Societal Reception 162 Economic Embeddedness 167 Considering Return Migration 172 Hermanos Lejanos as Neoliberal Subjects 176 CHAPTER 7 Strangers in a Native Land 178 Forgetting, Remembering, and Emigrating 179 Establishing Home Amidst Deportability 185 Deportation as Exile, Return as Uncertain 187 Navigating a Foreign Land 192 Stigmatization and Racialization 196 Economic Embeddedness 202 Coping and Homemaking Strategies 207 CHAPTER 8 Living and Leaving La Vida Loca 215 Gang Avoidance 216 Gang Entry 222 Transitioning out of Gangs 231 CHAPTER 9 Discussion and Conclusion 239 The War on Immigration 240 Collateral Damage 242 Returning “Home” to El Salvador 248 Transnational Implications 254 Policy Recommendations 256 Limitations and Future Research 261 REFERENCES 265 iv APPENDIX A Structured Questionnaire 308 APPENDIX B Semi-Structured Interview Schedule 313 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Total Removals from the United States, 1892-2013 Figure 1.2 Removals and Returns from the U.S., 1927-2013 Figure 1.3 Estimates of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population, 1990-2012 Figure 2.1 Model of Post-Deportation Embeddedness Figure 3.1 Removals of Salvadorans from the U.S., 1993-2012 Figure 3.2 Reasons for Removal of Salvadorans from the U.S., 1993-2011 Figure 4.1 Location of Interviews with Salvadoran Deportees vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Total and Salvadoran Foreign-Born Populations, 1960-2010 Table 5.1 Migration Histories of Sample of Salvadoran Deportees Table 5.2 Criminal Histories of Sample of Salvadoran Deportees Table 5.3 Economic Resources of Sample of Salvadoran Deportees Table 5.4 Social Ties of Sample of Salvadoran Deportees Table 5.5 Children of Sample of Salvadoran Deportees vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation was a collaborative effort. It would not have been possible without the support of organizations and individuals in the United States and El Salvador that provided funding, access, mentorship, and support. Though the faults are my certainly own, this dissertation is as much theirs as mine. I am immensely grateful for their contributions. Critical research funding was provided in the form of a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant by the National Science Foundation, a Human Rights Fellowship through the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and seed money from Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Centers for Global Peace and Conflict Studies and Law, Society, and Culture at the University of California, Irvine. Writing was made possible by the Fletcher Jones Foundation, the Division of Social Sciences, and the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. I am forever indebted to my mentors. I hit the jackpot when Rubén G. Rumbaut agreed to be my advisor. It was his work that first inspired my academic interest in migration. It was he who encouraged me when I timidly solicited opinions about tracking the experiences of deportees. He demonstrates to me that is possible to blend academia with an ardent passion for social justice. He has become my role model, my collaborator, and my cheerleader. He helped me to develop my confidence, my voice. He always encouraged me to carve my own professional identity rather than follow his path or any other scholar’s standards. Thank you, Rubén, for your sage advice and for your friendship. I would not have produced this project, or any future project, without you. Susan Bibler Coutin was also critically influential. Like many migrants represented in her work, I had no ties to El Salvador prior to graduate school. Susan introduced me to El Salvador and trained me in data collection and analysis. She invited me to shadow her on a series of focus groups she conducted with deported persons and later permitted me to use this data in this dissertation. She viii introduced me to many of her contacts who, in turn, provided me access to interviewees. She shared her interview schedule and her method of data analysis. She offered to co-author a book chapter, providing a model of efficient and effective collaboration. She listened and provided guidance as I navigated graduate school as a woman and a mother. She is an example that is possible to balance a successful career, a happy family, and personal wellness. Thank you, Susan. Numerous organizations also assisted with this project. El Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad provided a homestay and Spanish and history lessons in El Salvador. It was through them that I met Cristy Ayala. Cristy provided access to deportees throughout the Salvadoran countryside. She transported me to interviews and shared knowledge about the history and dynamics of the communities we visited. She offered critical interpretation services during interviews with Spanish speakers. Cristy also conducted a series of seven interviews and transcribed ten interviews for me. Perhaps most importantly, Cristy provided me with friendship and a sense of belonging in a foreign world. Her assistance was indispensable and her generosity of heart is unforgettable. Other individuals provided me access to interviewees. They include Daniel Sharp and Alisa Daubenspeck of the Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles, Luis Perdomo of El Centro de Recursos Centroamericanos Internacional, Alex Sanchez and the staff of Homies Unidos Los Angeles and San Salvador, and Pastor Salvador Fierro of Alcance Victoria in San Salvador. Other gatekeepers included Elsa Ramos, Luiz del Rio, Sophia Delgado, and Roxanna Delgado. Many deported persons interviewed for this study also provided access to other interviewees. I greatly appreciate their willingness to share their stories. I hope this dissertation represents them well. A team of masters and undergraduate level research assistants provided assistance with interview transcriptions, data entry, and coding of interviews. Carlos Batres became the natural leader of the team. He transcribed interviews, coded data, and helped me develop insights for the ix project during meetings and lengthy email memos and conversations. Carlos’ involvement in the project granted me important ‘insider’ knowledge to Latino culture that would have otherwise been lacking. His interpretations of the data enriched my analysis beyond measure. I am incredibly thankful for his dedication and his friendship. Other members of the research team at various stages of the project included Melissa Mae Cruz, Jorge Antonio Cruz, Monica Sepulveda, Jennifer Trinh, Diana Guerrero, Julio Rosas, Vanessa Velador, Carol Linton, Katherine Carranza, and Emily McLaughlin. I am thankful to each of them for their unique contributions. Numerous scholars were influential in direct and indirect ways. Thank you to Jennifer Lee for serving on my dissertation committee, for providing helpful feedback, and for being a great example of an effective teacher. Thank you to Cynthia Feliciano for the generous feedback and for the reassurance that my project was additive to migration scholarship. Thank you also to Stanley Bailey for his feedback in an infant stage of the project. I am also indebted to Daniel Kanstroom for his pioneering work in post-deportation studies. His research was foundational for my thinking on this project and his encouragement motivated me to share my insights and continue working in the area. Thank you to the faculty, staff, and graduate students in the UCI Department of Sociology and School of Social Sciences. You all helped make this dissertation possible. Finally, I would like to thank my family. Mom and dad, you have always been my number one fans. You sacrificed in innumerable ways to make my dreams come to fruition. You never stopped supporting me. When the road was tough and it seemed like everything would unravel, you were always there to reassure and encourage me. Thank you, dad, for demonstrating to me what it means to follow a passion, build community, and live a life of conviction. Thank x you, mom, for always being a few steps ahead, looking out for my best interests, and being there when no one else suffices.

Load more