Transnational DREAMer Narratives

Abstract

I trace transnational movement of the term DREAMer as it travels alongside deported and self-returned undocumented youths to Mexico, where the DREAMER narrative serves a neoliberal agenda. In the 2000s, the DREAMer narrative gained momentum as a popular trope in political and activist discourse across the United States, utilized as a tool to justify the inclusion of some (but not all) undocumented youths. As an UndocuScholar—a scholar researching and writing about the immigrant experience from an undocumented perspective—I join a growing number of current and former undocumented scholars who interrogate the DREAMer narrative for prioritizing a singular idea, based on neoliberal ideologies, that excludes the diverse experiences of immigrant communities. I use original testimonials captured in Los Otros Dreamers, edited by Jill Anderson, to document the experiences of deported and self-returned undocumented youths and application of the term DREAMer in Mexico. In so doing, I show how the unique routes and choices of immigrant communities are shaped by political discourse, notions of cultural belonging, and opportunities.