Stuck in Motion: Inhabiting the Space of Transit in Central American Migration

Abstract

R e s u m e n En este artículo examino lo que significa habitar el espacio de tránsito. Propongo un análisis enfocado en el "medio", abordándolo como tal y no en relación con los lugares y momentos que quedan a ambos extremos. Este trabajo responde a estos cuestionamientos para centrarse en la travesía migratoria, agregando una lente antropológica a la condición humana de encontrase en el medio. Analizo la migración de los centroamericanos indocumentados en México y detallo cómo la criminalización de los migrantes y el enfoque en torno a sus cuidados durante el tránsito, empujan a las personas a un mayor movimiento. Utilizando reportes de los traficantes de migrantes y de migrantes victimizados, muestro cómo el régimen de migración regional produce y perpetúa el movimiento clandestino, lo que mantiene a muchos migrantes atascados en movimiento. A medida que más personas son obligadas a habitar en el espacio de tránsito, es fundamental comprender los roles que allí se producen, cómo se reacciona a ellos y cómo son percibidos e implementados por los estados, los actores humanitarios y los mismos migrantes. [etnografía de la movilidad, tráfico de personas, migración de tránsito] [etnografía de la movilidad, tráfico de personas, migración de tránsito] A b s t r a c tIn this article, I examine what it means to inhabit the space of transit; I argue for an analysis centered on the "middle," rather than thinking of this "in between" primarily in relationship to places and moments on either side. This article answers calls to focus on the migration journey, adding an anthropological lens to the human condition of being in between. I discuss the migration of undocumented Central Americans in Mexico, and detail how both the criminalization of migrants and approaches to their care in transit push people into further motion. Using the accounts of migrant smugglers and victimized migrants, I show how the regional migration regime produces and perpetuates clandestine movement, which keeps many migrants stuck in motion. As

Gateway to the North? Contingent Journeys at the Mexico‐Guatemala Border

“…2017). Inconsistencies persist regarding whether the visa is extended for six months or one year, if it can be renewed, and if it is accompanied by a work permit (Frank‐Vitale 2020; Vonk 2019).…”

“…Examining the interrelation between mobility and immobility, rather than transit per se, highlights how migrants can become suspended in prolonged waiting, confined within traditional destination countries when unable to return, or encounter phases of immobility as part of their mobility experiences (Arriola Vega 2012; Brigden and Mainwaring 2016; Coutin 2010; Hess 2012; Khosravi 2014; Missbach 2013). Not necessarily immobilized or without choices, migrants draw on diverse legal mechanisms and social strategies to continue moving and avoid deportation and victimization (Fernández Casanueva and Paulín 2019, 162; Brigden and Mainwaring 2016; Frank‐Vitale 2020; Schapendonk 2012). Migrants engage in social relations of reciprocity and care to navigate transit corridors imbued with unpredictability (Doering‐White 2018; Vogt 2018).…”

“…Migrants' decisions to seek status, how they envision using documents, and how documents actually impact their experiences may unfold in unanticipated fashion over time. Temporary forms of protection may prolong waiting in Mexico while acting as forms of deterrence from settling in Mexico and arriving to the U.S. (Frank‐Vitale 2020). Regularization pathways are also beset by obstacles that may consign migrants to perpetual liminality (Basok and Wiesner 2018).…”

“…Migrants can attempt to work 6 and buy time as they weigh their options. In some instances, it has even made migrants valuable as human smugglers or to criminal networks due to their increased mobility and knowledge, connections to migrants, and their own limited possibilities for settling in Mexico or reaching the U.S. (Frank‐Vitale 2020).…”

The Generation of the Coup: Honduran Youth at Risk and of Risk

“…His ethnography of the Mara Salvatrucha (Martínez d'Aubuisson 2015) will soon be accompanied by his forthcoming book on gangs in Honduras (Martínez d'Aubuisson forthcoming). Amelia has long researched Central American transit migration through Mexico (Frank‐Vitale 2020). More recently (2017–2019), she conducted two years of fieldwork in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, focused on the everyday experience of violence and survival for those who were deported back to Honduras and/or are planning to migrate (For more on her methods see Frank‐Vitale 2019).…”