Unequal new beginnings: Social class and return migration to Mexico City

As thousands of Mexicans – whether documented or not – cross the border to the United States every year, many others are simultaneously making their way back to their home country, either voluntarily or by force. Contrary to popular perception, return migrants are not a monolithic group composed solely of deportees or low-skilled workers. Many Mexicans move abroad for advanced education and professional opportunities. This diversity in migrants’ backgrounds suggests that their experiences of migration and subsequent return are heavily influenced by their social class. While the acquisition of tangible and intangible resources abroad is in theory possible for all migrants, the circumstances in which they find themselves in their country of origin vary depending on their economic, cultural and social capital. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Greater Mexico City, this project explores how individuals with different social backgrounds navigate the challenges and opportunities upon returning to their homeland. This study is part of the DFG-funded research project “Return to Mexico: Migration and the pluralization of kinship” led by Prof. Dr. Julia Pauli. By focusing on social class and return dynamics in Mexico City, it complements the larger initiative’s goal of understanding return flows in both rural and urban areas.

Conferences as part of the project:

Some Things Will Never Change? Sibling Relations as Affective Responses in Three Transnational Contexts (with Julia Pauli and Charlot Schneider). Panel “Through thick and thin? Intra-generational kinship in and across transnational lifeworlds” (organised by Julia Pauli and Laura Ogden). 22nd IMISCOE Annual Conference, Paris-Aubervilliers, France, 03.07.2025

(Im)perfect homecomings: return migration, social class and motherhood in Mexico City. Panel “Motherhood on the move: infrastructures of im/mobilities” (organised by Andrea Verdasco and Rachel Benchekroun). ASA2025, Birmingham, UK, 10.04.2025 (DAAD-funded)

“Esto ya no es vida para mi”: La reinvención personal de personas retornadas en la Ciudad de México [“This is no life for me anymore”: The self-reinvention of returnees in Mexico City]. Departamento de Ciencias Sociales y Políticas, Universidad Iberoamericana CDMX, Mexico, 22.02.2024

¿Volver al nido o comenzar de nuevo? Experiencias de retorno a la Ciudad de México [Back to the nest or start from scratch? Experiences of returning to Mexico City]. Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, 12.09.2023