Examining Family Separation Through Narratives of Family, Migration, and Separation Among Deported Mexican-U.S. Family Members

dc.contributor.advisor

Paredes, Liliana

dc.contributor.advisor

Gibson-Davis, Christina M

dc.contributor.author

Kopp, Tyler

dc.date.accessioned

2020-05-11T23:21:40Z

dc.date.available

2020-05-11T23:21:40Z

dc.date.issued

2019-12-06

dc.department

Sanford School of Public Policy/Public Policy Studies

dc.description.abstract

Family separation entered the U.S. political mainstream in the spring of 2018 when the Trump administration began separating thousands of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. While this policy is the first of its kind to deliberately use family separation as immigration enforcement in contemporary U.S. history, the U.S. has a much more extensive history of separating families, especially Mexican-U.S. families, through deportation. This research examines how deportation-induced family separation of Mexican-U.S. family members impacts familial relationships, as told through the narratives of deported family members in Mexico. These narratives suggest that family can be a broad and dynamic community that often includes people outside one’s biological or adopted family network. They also present a conception of family through the lens of mutually supportive relationships and shared experiences with family members. The narratives suggest that the physical aspects of family separation inhibit one’s ability to fully serve one’s familial role of support and to share experiences with one’s family members. For these reasons, family separation often stagnates or deteriorates familial relationships. Transnational and national policy reform can end family separation in the U.S. and Mexico, reunite families that have been separated, and allow the U.S. to come to terms with its past of family separation and address the victims of separation.

dc.identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20634

dc.language.iso

en_US

dc.subject

Family Separation

dc.subject

Migration

dc.subject

Deportation

dc.subject

Trauma

dc.subject

Human rights

dc.subject

Mexico-U.S. Relations

dc.title

Examining Family Separation Through Narratives of Family, Migration, and Separation Among Deported Mexican-U.S. Family Members

dc.type

Honors thesis

duke.embargo.months

0

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Kopp_Thesis Final.docx
Size:
528.4 KB
Format:
Microsoft Word XML
Description:
Winner of 2020 Best Public Policy Thesis Award