The State of Central Americans in the US: Notes from the field

The much sensationalized and recent "crisis" at the border resulting in thousands of mostly Central American underage migrants captured and deported by ICE also exposed the cruelty of the Obama administration's deportation... [ view full abstract ]

The much sensationalized and recent "crisis" at the border resulting in thousands of mostly Central American underage migrants captured and deported by ICE also exposed the cruelty of the Obama administration's deportation regime and bad foreign policy in Central America. Central Americans have been historically marginalized by immigration policies best exemplified by Reagan’s cold war politics of refusing refugee status to victims of war; this current migration and US response recalls that era. The limelight on the region has raised questions about Central American immigrants today and their role in US society, civic and political participation, labor and social movement participation, criminalization of youth in the US and abroad, gender, feminist and Queer action, integration and incorporation, and lastly the will to survive within multiplural Latino societies. How do Central Americans make their voices heard in a cacophony of Latino/Chicano voices and demands? How do Central Americans present a different example of Latino agency? How is it that Central Americans are different, and why is that good for the Latino cause in the US? What epistemological questions does the heterogeneous Central American experience illuminate for Latina/o Studies?