Hanging on to hope in a Mexican migrant shelter: the empowering potential of Albergue Tochán

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a case study of how staying in one Mexico City migrant shelter (albergue) helps refugee claimants from the northern countries of Central America to revise their plans and aspirations in light of the changing reality that has made it more difficult for them to reach the United States. Specifically, we investigate whether Albergue Tochán contains elements of an empowering setting in which claimants can gain some control over their lives as they wait for permission to stay in Mexico. The paper is based on interviews, participant observation and follow-up conversations with ten men, who, at the time of research in 2018–2019, were staying at Albergue Tochán (an all-men’s shelter) while awaiting decisions on their asylum cases. All of the men had intended to migrate to the United States, but, for a variety of reasons, ended their journeys in Mexico City. The paper demonstrates how the stay at Albergue Tochán stabilized the conditions of life for these men, at least temporarily. Through acquiring meaningful roles and relationships during their stay at the shelter, the men were empowered to the extent that they built agency, trust, skills, identity and hope.

Resumen

Este articulo ofrece un estudio de caso acerca de cómo la estancia en un albergue para migrantes de la Ciudad de México contribuye a que solicitantes de la condición de refugio en México, originarios de los países del norte de Centroamérica, revisen sus planes y aspiraciones a la luz de la realidad cambiante que les ha dificultado llegar a los Estados Unidos. Específicamente, investigamos si los refugios para migrantes (albergues) constituyen entornos comunitarios empoderadores en donde los solicitantes pueden obtener cierto control sobre sus vidas, mientras esperan el permiso para permanecer en México. El artículo se basa en entrevistas, observación participatoria, y conversaciones de seguimiento con diez hombres, que en el momento de la investigación en 2018-2019 se alojaban en el Albergue Tochán (un refugio para hombres) mientras esperaban decisiones sobre sus casos de asilo. El articulo demuestra cómo la estadía en el Albergue Tochán estabilizó las condiciones de vida de estos hombres, al menos temporalmente. Al adquirir roles y relaciones significativas durante su estadía en el refugio, los hombres fueron empoderados en la medida en que desarrollaron agencia, confianza, habilidades, identidad y esperanza.

KEYWORDS:

• Migrant shelters
• albergues
• casas de migrantes
• case study
• Mexico
• northern countries of Central America
• fragmented journeys
• mobilities
• migration management
• refugee claimants
• empowering settings

PALABRAS CLAVES:

• Refugios para immigrantes
• albergues
• casas de migrantes
• estudio de caso
• México
• países del norte de Centroamérica
• viajes fragmentados
• mobilidades
• gestión de migración
• solicitantes de refugio
• entornos empoderadores

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, uses the term “claimant” to describe a person who has fled their country and is asking for protection in another country. We do not know whether a claimant is a refugee or not until their case has been decided.

2. The director of Albergue Tochán, Licenciada Gabriela Hernández Chalte, gave the authors permission to identify the shelter and her directorship. While most of the men and the two volunteers who participated in our study wanted their real names to be published, we chose to use pseudonyms to protect their identities.

3. Given that almost half of asylum claims in Mexico were made by women in 2018 (COMAR 2018), we acknowledge that our findings are limited by focusing only on male refugee claimants. For research focused on the migration to/through Mexico of women from Central America, see Terrón-Caro and Monreal-Gimeno (2014),Willers (2016), Angulo-Pasel (2019), Lemus-Way and Johansson (2020), Makuc Urbina (2020).

4. In 2018, for example, 29,630 people applied for refugee status. Of that total, 13,679 were from Honduras. In 2019, 2,981 of the Honduran’s claims were resolved: 25% were recognized as refugees; 39% with complementary protection and 36% were rejected (negative resolution) (COMAR).

5. According to the Secretaría de Gobernación, https://www.gob.mx/segob, the Visitor Visa for Humanitarian Reasons is valid for one year with the possibility of renewal and is granted in the following situations: being a victim or witness of a crime committed in Mexico; being an unaccompanied minor; being an applicant for political asylum, recognition of refugee status or complementary protection from the Mexican State, until their immigration status is resolved.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stacey Wilson-Forsberg

Stacey Wilson-Forsberg, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Human Rights & Human Diversity Program and Director of the Tshepo Institute for Contemporary Africa at Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford, Ontario. Her research examines migration and multiculturalism, with a specific focus on immigrant and refugee youth, and migrants with precarious immigration status in North America and Africa. She teaches courses focusing on migration, including a biennial undergraduate field course on migration and human rights in Mexico in partnership with el Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

Carlos Parra

Carlos Parra is a Professor of Spanish and Chair of the World Languages Department & ESL Program at La Sierra University, Riverside, California. His research focuses on areas of cultural and interdisciplinary studies directly related to the e/im/migrant transnational experience, diaspora, private/collective identity, nostalgia and development of Spanish-speaking communities in the United States.