Outsiders in two countries: School tensions in the lives of Mexican migrant youth

Abstract

This article explores the educational context of a migrant-sending community in rural Mexico to demonstrate how students are often typecast as “undocumented migrants” before they ever leave Mexico. As such, students can be treated as outsiders within their own community, long before they may come to feel alienated in classrooms in the United States. In response, students in Mexico develop savvy means of participating in school activities without absorbing negative messages about their identities or choices. Indeed, scholars such as Guerra have likewise found evidence of students’ careful transnational positioning. However, once these students reach the United States, their undocumented status is often silenced or ignored. In this context – one that encourages academic pursuit without considering the real challenges that transnational students face – students often find their loyalties split between new academic pressures and their community of origin. This experience can negatively impact their educational outcomes.