Copyright by Lindsey Jennifer Carte 2013 The Dissertation Committee for Lindsey Jennifer Carte Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Central American Immigrant Women and the Enactment of State Policy: Everyday Restriction on Mexico’s Southern Border Committee: Rebecca M. Torres Supervisor Paul Adams Adina Batnitzky Nestor Rodriguez Bjorn Sletto CENTRAL AMERICAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN AND THE ENACTMENT OF STATE POLICY: EVERYDAY RESTRICTION ON MEXICO’S SOUTHERN BORDER by Lindsey Jennifer Carte, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2013 Dedication For my family—those who have come before me and who will come after me. Acknowledgements During the past years I have heard again and again that writing a dissertation is a lonely process. My experience could not be farther from this, as many people have helped me along the way. I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Rebecca Torres, for her unwavering support, encouragement and incredible generosity. Rebecca has dedicated countless hours to helping me develop this project and shape my academic identity. Through her example Rebecca has shown me the power of collaboration, collegiality, fairness, kindness, and humor. She has made sure that I have had access to and seized every opportunity possible while I have been at UT, from fellowships, to attending conferences, to publications and much more. I could not have chosen a more exceptional mentor, advocate and friend to guide me on this journey. I also express thanks to my wonderful dissertation committee. I am profoundly grateful to Bjorn Sletto, who has helped me through this process at every step of the way with great generosity and kindness. He has meticulously and constructively reviewed so much of my work. One of my most formative experiences during my doctoral program has been working with Bjorn in his ongoing community engagement project in Santo Domingo. I am also so appreciative of the guidance I have received from Paul Adams, who has provided insightful feedback on this project from its beginnings during my first year as a graduate student in his proposal writing seminar. Adina Batnitzky has also been an incredible source of encouragement for me during this process. Our conversations during the last stages of writing renewed my energy and enthusiasm at a critical time. I v am also thankful to Nestor Rodriguez, who has also provided much appreciated feedback and support. As one of the foremost experts on Central American migration, his input has been extremely valuable to me. Many people in the Department of Geography and the Environment deserve recognition for helping me to get to this point. One of my biggest cheerleaders at UT Geography has been Professor Leo Zonn— he encouraged me to apply to the program and has provided astute advice on navigating the academic world. Professor Greg Knapp was our graduate advisor throughout much of my time in the department, always readily available to hear our concerns and advocate for his students. I am also thankful to James Gunter, our graduate coordinator, for taking care of all of the extremely important “behind the scenes” administrative details. I am also grateful to my community of fellow grad students, the GAGs, who have commiserated with me throughout this process. I have been blessed to have made cherished friendships at UT, and these friends have served as my role models, sounding boards, comic relief and sources of motivation. You all know who you are, but those who have been particularly present in this process deserve to be recognized. Solange Muñoz emailed me every day to give me pep talks and make sure I was meeting my writing goals. Chris Ulack made me laugh every time I saw him in the office. Bisola Falola co-worked with me in cafes. My first home at UT was at LLILAS, and I made some of my strongest friendships there (and of course, at the parties). Sandra Botero reminded me to be ruthless with my writing and to stop thinking and start doing. Vanessa Martinez gave me incredible feedback. Amanda Posson and Lindsey Engelman have celebrated with me at every step of the way. My partner, vi Álvaro—the best thing that UT has given me—put everything into perspective. Another group of trusted friends guided me in Tapachula. Dr. Carmen Fernández, Lourdes Rosas, Melissa Vértiz, Santiago Martínez and Rosa Icela Cigarroa oriented me and provided countless insights. This research would not have been possible without the financial support I received from the National Science Foundation DDRI (Award #1031777), the Society of Women Geographers’ Pruitt National Fellowship for Dissertation Research, a Lozano Long Faculty Sponsored Dissertation Research Grant and the UT Graduate School Mike Hogg Endowment Fellowship (Named Continuing Fellowship). An article coauthored with Rebecca Torres, consisting of revised sections of this dissertation is forthcoming in the journal Gender, Place and Culture. Finally, I thank all of the women and men who participated in this study, who took the time out of their busy schedules to speak with me for hours, teaching me about their lives and their worlds. vii Central American Immigrant Women and the Enactment of State Policy: Everyday Restriction on Mexico’s Southern Border Lindsey Jennifer Carte, PhD The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: Rebecca Maria Torres Central American immigrant women living in the Mexico-Guatemala border city of Tapachula routinely face multiple barriers to availing themselves and their children of rights entitled to them by law. In many cases, these denials unfold at the scale of the everyday, through interactions with low-to mid-level officials. As embodiments of the state, low-to mid-level officials such as bureaucrats, educators, social workers and healthcare officials possess the power to regulate immigrant citizenship and belonging through their everyday actions. However, we know very little about how officials working on the ground interpret and implement their power on an everyday basis; how this impacts immigrant experience and exercise of social and political citizenship rights; and how immigrants in turn respond to and negotiate results of interactions in their lives. Women and their Mexican-born children are disproportionately affected by this phenomenon, inducing consequences, such as exclusion from political and social citizenship, barring of children from the education system, and increased vulnerability to viii exploitation and domestic violence. Building upon literature on the changing geographies of the state, citizenship and migration in Geography, this dissertation seeks to broaden and deepen our understanding of how interactions between immigrant women and the micro-level state play out at the scale of the everyday and how these processes are significant in the lives of immigrants as well as low-to mid-level officials. Another goal of this work is to go beyond one-sided views of officials, to understand the overarching institutional contexts for their actions. To meet these objectives, I analyze data obtained during over a year of fieldwork conducted in Tapachula. My research consisted of in-depth interviews with low-to mid- level officials and Central American immigrant women, participatory workshops, and participant observation working in a local government agency. My findings suggest that low-to-mid level officials’ actions constitute a form of everyday restriction, which, implemented through minute, mundane actions has major impacts on immigrant women’s sense of citizenship in Tapachula. However, officials’ actions are informed by complex institutional and socio-spatial factors and power-relations, which provide valuable context for our understanding of this phenomenon. ix Table of Contents List of Figures ...................................................................................................... xiii Prologue: Immigrant-State Encounters in Tapachula .............................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4 Note on Research Design and Site ........................................................ 6 Feminist Political Geographies of the State, Citizenship and Migration ............................................................................................. 15 The Importance of Central American Migration to Mexico ............... 24 Chapter 2: Research Design and Methods .............................................................................. 31 Introduction to Study Population and Research Site .......................... 31 “De la Gran Manzana al Gran Mango”: A Note on Positionality ....... 34 Research Design .................................................................................. 39 Political Ethnography: “Politics under a Microscope” .............. 40 Participant Observation .............................................................. 42 Interviews with Central American Immigrants .......................... 45 Interviews with Low- to Mid-Level Officials ............................ 48 The Everyday, Feminist Geopolitics and Participatory Research ...... 52 Participatory Design and Implementation of Workshops .......... 55 Role-Play ...................................................................................