God, children and country : an in-depth study of the condition of immigrant illegality through the experiences of Mexican domestic workers in Dallas, Texas

Abstract

This paper examines the significance of religion to immigrants in the United States, and explores the ways that religion shapes immigrants’ lives outside of religious institutions and religious contexts. Recognizing that women have become a greater proportion of the undocumented labor migrant population in the United States, this paper focuses on how Mexican immigrant women experience religion. Through a case study of the experiences of three undocumented Mexican women, I examine how they use their religious beliefs and commitments to respond to the material, social, and emotional upheavals of their everyday lives. Using narrative analysis and a lived religion framework, I analyze semi-structured, in-depth interviews with three undocumented Mexican domestic workers who live in the Dallas metropolitan area to understand how they use religious stories and symbols to help them make sense of and cope with the uncertainties and vulnerabilities they face living in the United States.