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The Corner Project of Malinalco. Migrants vs. family-fragmenting policy: A Mexican home community proposes solutions. Early-stage migration. Tends to be circular Jobs tend to be rural, seasonal, insecure Scattered, multiple destinations Destination support is very limited Family stays home
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The Corner Project of Malinalco Migrants vs. family-fragmenting policy:A Mexican home community proposes solutions
Early-stage migration • Tends to be circular • Jobs tend to be rural, seasonal, insecure • Scattered, multiple destinations • Destination support is very limited • Family stays home • Migrants’ goal: earn & return
Early-stage migration: family and community • Extended families provide support • Paying migration costs • Raising children • Attempt to solve problems internally • Effects of migration not easily visible outside families
Examples of family-breaking policy: • Deportation of migrant members of mixed-status families • Family members stressed during long waits in home community • U.S.-born children’s bureaucratic limbo • Enforcement that pushes people into clandestinity makes for lost connections • Less permeable border raises costs: children wait longer to see parents • Opaque detention system • Migrant relatives difficult to locate • Communications prohibitively expensive • Health and other problems difficult to address • Visa restrictions impede family visits for key family events, illness, other needs
Solution-generating methodology: • Make services available to families in home community • Build home community-destination connections via internet • Provide translation and technical support to aid cross-border linking • Build links to include • local home community • Home country agencies • Destination country agencies • local destination community • Facilitate crisis resolution with two-way communications • Remedy communication gaps • Strengthen security via community accounting methods
Recommendations • Create apostille-support network for U.S.-born children • Provide low-cost detainees’ communications with family in home communities • Create network of home-region-based support modules providing • Internet-facilitated low-cost communications • Volunteer-staffed English-language communications and technical support
The Corner Project of Malinalco www.elrincon.orgEllen Calmus: ecalmus@elrincon.org