Between Wealth, Nations, and Want: International Migration and its Impact on Kinship Expression, a Case Study (Mexico-United States)

Abstract

This thesis seeks to consider how Mexican migrants work to sustain and build relationships with loved ones “back home,” amidst trying to find social and economic footing in the United States. I analyze my father, José’s, first and second migrations to the United States in the context of 21st century United States surveillance-oriented, restrictive immigration policy and as an experience of uncertainty (Chapter 2). Looking at letter and telephone call communication, I consider what each technology affords and the moments of relational strain and not that are produced (Chapter 3). I examine how remittances are used for home construction “back home” and signal, public-facingly, the position and health of a migrant’s relationships to community and non-migrant families. I contextualize how these cross-border exchanges form, and work to create an aesthetic of migration by focusing on my father’s architectural plans for his family home in Mexico (Chapter 4). My thesis does not intend to romanticize such aesthetics. Rather, I hope to engage with them critically and consider how they might help us determine the future modes of our cross-border relationality.