Gender Impact on Mobility. Interview with Alethia Fernández de la Reguera

Carlos Maza: How does migration relate to gender? What are the dimensions of gender in migration?
Alethia Fernández de la Reguera: There is a longstanding tradition in the fields of migration and gender studies. Academics like Marina Ariza from UNAM’s Institute for Social Research has been a pioneer in studying the impact of gender on mobility. Initially, research focused on migrations from the rural to urban areas during the 1960s, 1970s and even 1980s, where women were often the primary migrants, and left the rural areas for urban centers. Since then, research on Mexico-United States migration and the role of women within this context began to gain relevance. Traditional migration theories overlooked the dimension of gender and women were often portrayed just as accompaniments. Men were depicted as primary migrants and the initiators of migratory movements, relegating women to a secondary role in the process of making decisions. However, we are beginning to realize that this is not the case, and that women have always played a crucial role. Both in internal rural-urban migrations and migrations from Mexico to the United States, women have been migrant pioneers in their families and communities. Women leave their homes, families, and environments due to specific conditions starkly defined by gender. This typically involves fleeing in the context of domestic, community or partner violence. Moreover, women’s decisions to migrate are often more complex or face more obstacles than men.

We’re a migrant country, where men have traditionally, even in the context of masculine rituals, ventured north to start their adult lives and assume the role of providers. In contrast, when women migrate north, they are seen as transgressing the traditional role of staying at home to take care of children. Historically, women have had to undertake extensive negotiations at a family level and have had to migrate with fewer resources and alternative networks. As research indicates, they do not necessarily possess the same networks as men. In the book Caravanas (Caravans, Gandini, Fernández de la Reguera and Narváez Gutiérrez, 2020), that we published after conducting direct research with migrants on the move, it is very clear, for example, how many women chose the caravan, as it is the least expensive option. The large-scale nature of the migrant caravans serves as means to reduce the cost of hiring a smuggler or a pollero. It also provides a much more viable and safer form of travel, which is crucial for Central American women that have endured decades of crossing Mexico while being victims of extreme violence, including sexual violence, and they have to migrate with smugglers as a way to be safer, to be less visible, but they end up facing even greater dangers.

CM: Current migration statistics still suggest that men are more likely to migrate, is that right?
AFR: We would need to conduct a more detailed analysis of how we measure mobilities. Practically, there is a roughly 50 per cent split between the two genders in the flows. What changes is the strategy, and it completely depends on the circuit. In the Mexico-United States circuit, women are not included in circular migrations, as they often stay for extended periods of time of five to ten years, due to the difficulty of returning. Although the numbers are balanced (50-50 per cent), there’s a lot more men when measuring crossing events, for example.

In the context of Central American migrations, nationality plays a significant role, with men predominantly migrating. This is due to the exceptionally high risks associated with irregularly crossing Mexico for women. About 60 to 65 per cent of migrant custodies in Mexico are men, which means that 35 to 40 per cent of them are women. When discussing gender and migration, we do not have to limit our discussion to population size; instead, we should also include the strategies, risks and capital that women migrate with.

CM: You previously mentioned networks that are involved in the migratory process, what are these networks? How do they operate?
AFR: Classic migration theories, such as those proposed by Jorge Durán and Douglas Massey, suggest that each migratory act generates new ones. This means that every individual who migrates has the potential to attract other migrants, including families and people from their community. This is because migration starts with the availability of social capital: networks, access to information, and access to loans. Women do not have access to the same social networks that men can tap into. This is a simple yet telling example witnessed by those who conduct fieldwork: access to a personal cell phone. Women hardly have a phone for them, having to share or borrow one, while most men have their own device. Through personal phones, men can access networks on Facebook, join groups that share information about refuges and checkpoints, and even receive financial transfers from the United States.

The disparity in access to networks is significant. Men have access to personal phones, financial transfers, and a wealth of information through various platforms, like Tik-Tok. Nowadays, many migrants use Tik-Tok, and if we look at the profiles, most users are male and not women. Therefore, it is predominantly men who have access to these networks.

Women have other types of networks. And while these tend to be more precarious in nature, it’s necessary to recognize that many of these networks are centered around caregiving responsibilities. The biggest problem arises when women migrate with their children, often as caregivers. At times, when they need to make legal procedures at the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistant (COMAR, Spanis initials), they are limited because they cannot leave their children unattended. This is due to factors such as the inability to afford passage tickets for three people, or because they just can’t have their children waiting in ten-hour queues under the Tapachula sun. Existing policies fail to acknowledge the reality that women are caregivers too. When discussing their networks, we consider the arrangements they make within their own means, as not a single refuge in Mexico has a program to care for children while women work, for example.

CM: You have previously explored the topic of detention centers and of checkpoints in another publication: Detención migratoria: prácticas de humillación, asco y desprecio (Migratory Detention: Humiliation, Disgust and Contempt, Fernández de la Reguera Ahedo, 2021a). Why do countries’ policies try to contain migration this way?
AFR: This is a tough question, as there isn’t a positive scenario to consider. We must understand Mexico’s role in the context of punitive approaches and migration criminalization. Mexico is the country in Latin America with the most migration centers, and it’s replicating the worst practices of the northern countries seen in the United States, but also in Greece or in Italy. This includes the absolute dehumanization of migrants, the disappearance of asylum procedures, and the creation of military borders instead of generating international protection.

Mexico is building more detention centers and using the National Guard as first responders. These are global policies that have made detention a key strategy for deterrence. Anyone who enters the country and interacts with authorities is likely to end up in a detention center, even if they are asylum seekers who need international protection. Mexico takes the lead: each year, we break the record for detained individuals. In 2023, we closed with nearly 600,000 people detained; more than half a million detained people, among which most of them will most likely be deported. Detention thus becomes a deterrence strategy, and Mexico’s scenario is even more complex due to the militarization of the borders. Asylum applications begin in Chiapas, and between Chiapas and Tabasco, they account for 65 per cent of the detentions. Public discourse often suggests that there are sheltering spaces. But the checkpoint strategy is crucial because it is a mobile device that allows the border to move towards the interior of the country, and it is flexible enough to adjust and profile certain groups. On a 300-kilometer road section, the Tapachula-Tuxtla Gutiérrez stretch, there are 11 checkpoints. It is impossible to leave that area where, in addition, there is also a detention strategy that is almost personalized through racial profiling practices. For women, these conditions present even higher risks. I don’t mean that men do not face risks, but women also face the added threat of sexual assault by authorities during detention. We have documented severe cases of sexual assault perpetrated by the National Guard against migrant women. As a result, migrating as women exposes them to heightened levels of violence in this context.

Ximena Gómez: Refuges are no longer a safe space; detention spaces face severe situations of insecurity. And there is also a great deal of misinformation.
AFR: The initial experience for migrants in detention centers or checkpoints is often misinformation. They are not informed that Mexico is a country where they have the right to seek international protection, refuge, or asylum. They are also not informed about the reasons for their detention, the duration of it, nor that they have access to support services, such as psychological and legal assistance, or organizations that are able to assist them at the stations. Just last year, on March 27, 2023, a fire broke out in Ciudad Juárez and it proved that detention centers have become risky for migrants.

The cases of severe abuse I mentioned, like sexual assault, do not happen solely within detention centers but rather at checkpoints, where women are stopped on highways and taken in custody. My point is that when studying detention, we must not only focus on what happens within detention centers but also on the entire process, from the moment a woman interacts with authorities, all that can happen in this process. We are witnessing cases of temporary enforced disappearance, where individuals vanish for an hour or a day, often closed off communication due to detentions occurring in areas with no phone signal, for example. They face risks from the moment they interact with authorities to when they are taken to detention centers, apart from the other potential abuses that occur within these centers themselves.

CM: You wrote about one of these facilities, near Tapachula, that did not have the capacity to sustain the lives of the people, the number of people that were there. Is this a widespread problem in migrant detention centers?
AFR: Migration laws refer to them as migratory stations or temporary stations, but I call them detention centers, and even migrant jails which they essentially are. I’ve done ethnographies at the female jail in Tepepan and a Center of Social Readaptation, and I can confirm that conditions are even more dire in migratory stations than in prisons. Last year’s fire at Ciudad Juárez—the worst of all cases—is an example of these conditions. Over the last years, from 2012 on, there have been 12 migrant deaths in migratory detention centers due to negligence, abandonment, and other reasons. This is a widespread problem across the country. Reports from the Citizens Council of the National Migration Institute dating back to 2017, investigated 20 migratory stations and found overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, lack of healthcare services, and even torture spaces. This is an overlooked issue because it is hidden behind legal jargon and relies heavily on administrative rights. Arriving irregularly in Mexico is not a criminal offense, it is considered an administrative infraction that, according to the Constitution, warrants a 36-hours detention period. However, in practice, migratory policies operate more like criminal policies, and migrants are treated similarly to criminals rather than administrative offenders.

CM: What about Mexican migrants, do they experience these same circumstances?
AFR: I’m not up to date on the current state of the Mexico-United States migration, which is a constantly changing field. But, same as Central Americans, Mexicans also face significant challenges. There are certain areas within the country where organized crime operates migratory routes, although Mexicans have more capital.

We have witnessed a big drama unfolding in Tijuana with deported migrants. Juan Antonio del Monte, a researcher from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Tijuana, has written a book titled El vórtice de precarización (The Precarious Vortex, 2022), which is an ethnographic study of deported Mexicans in Tijuana. I’ve seen firsthand deportations of elderly adults who have spent their entire lives working in the United States. They are sent away often over something as simple as a traffic ticket, or because of chronic illnesses like diabetes, or because they are no longer deemed productive. It’s heartbreaking to see them forced to leave their homes and all their possessions, even their children and grandchildren, and be deported. This has become a common occurrence at the northern border, with Tijuana being different from Tapachula. In Tapachula, you see people from various places, African people or Venezuelan families. In the north, there are similar dynamics, but it is mostly Mexican people who are trying to cross. The most challenging aspect is the experiences lived by those who have been deported. To truly understand the Mexico-United States migration, we need to consider the perspective of those who have been sent back with nothing, after living their entire lives in that country.

Another crucial aspect that has been scarcely researched is the situation of Mexican people seeking refuge in the United States. This includes displaced people from Michoacán or Guerrero, groups of people that include women—we have seen them—who have fled violence in their home communities and seek asylum on the border. Many of them are now waiting in northern Mexican cities, hoping to cross and apply for asylum. Unfortunatelly, the United States has been closing protection channels. Nowadays people can enter with a Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole, or through the CBP-One application, which is part of the digitization of the asylum process.

CM: You have conducted extensive fieldwork: How do you personally experience this direct research work with people who live in such complex situations?
AFR: I have focused my work on the perspective of migration agents, government officers. I interview individuals I wouldn’t normally choose to speak to, but their perspectives are important. It’s hard sometimes. As you occasionally realize that there are situations where there is no clear way to address the issues. You see the harsh realities of checkpoints, the National Guard, and migration agents, while also witnessing the desperate need of people to survive, literally. Nowadays we have shifted towards humanitarian work, as the scenery has changed since we first began addressing this issue. First, we must stay up to date on procedures, because people need information, and they are always going to have questions.

We have established collaboration with local organizations to better support the channeling of cases. Unfortunately, everything is done through WhatsApp. Even communication with local authorities in Tapachula often takes place through WhatsApp, as we work to resolve various issues there. And I’ve also developed my own strategies: I’ve reduced my time on the field. It’s difficult: I often interview people who I may never see again and can’t guarantee whether they will successfully cross the border or not. And, recently, our work has expanded beyond interviews to include more humanitarian assistance.

XG: What is the level of engagement between civil society organizations and migrants in these areas? What is the role of these organizations in the overall migration process you are studying?
AFR: We have seen adaptation processes with local organizations in Tapachula, for example, with the Haitian migrant community. It is very interesting to see how the Haitian economy has become integrated into Tapachula’s context; there are emerging bars and restaurants near the municipal markets. I think the community in Tapachula—the case I’m familiar with the most—may initially reject the process, but they also recognize the economic benefits. In all municipalities where migrants settle or pass through, there may be challenges in providing basic services, but there is also a rapidly growing economy.

Local media also disseminate xenophobic messages, claiming that migrants bring criminal activity, which is proven to be untrue. However, there’s also remarkable efforts from civil society, with organizations pioneering in providing humanitarian assistance and social protection. In collaboration with Luciana Gandini and Juan Carlos Narváez, we investigated, during the pandemic, institutional responses and were met with silence from the government. The only federal program addressing social emergencies is the temporary employment program from the Secretariat of Welfare, but social organizations are the ones providing essential services and social protection, like providing refuge, food and everything related with procedural support or psychological assistance. Mexico has a rich history of migrant tradition; studying refuges is particularly interesting, as in the northern region, the tradition of migrant houses and refuges for Mexicans has evolved over the past few years, initially focusing on deported individuals and now also assisting Central Americans and other migrants passing through Mexico. I would say that civil society organizations play a crucial role, and they enable migrants to complete their procedures and safely transit through Mexico.

CM: Would you say that civil society organizations fulfill this role because the government does not?
AFR: Absolutely. While the state maintains control through militarization, it fails to fulfill its responsibility of providing social assistance and support to migrants. Even though irregular entry into Mexico is an administrative infraction, the state is still obligated to certain rights like healthcare, for example. People have the right to be assisted. The void left by the state is often assumed by civil society. In this context, migrants cease to be recognized as rights-holders and become beneficiaries of temporary humanitarian aid, provided by civil society networks. The state oversees the control measures, which can be observed at the borders where it coexists with civil society organizations. In the same space are the National Guard, Doctors Without Borders and a local organization.

CM: What do you think the future trends will be?
AFR: Sadly, I think that militarization of borders is an issue tied to the broader militarization of public security in the country. This extends beyond migrants, to the whole country. Under the current administration, the military has assumed a significant number of responsibilities that they didn’t have before, and I do not think there is going to be a military withdrawal. I think that, in general terms, there is a growing tendency to militarize the borders in many countries, with military personnel being the first point of contact for migrants. This is worrying, as the military is primarily trained for other tasks and may not be equipped to provide the necessary international protection and humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations.

CM: Are there any types of lobbying or advocacy efforts made by any of the stakeholders involved in migration to improve government policies?
AFR: Organizations have expressed that during the current administration, the possibility of dialogue is completely closed. From my perspective as an academic and activist, I have witnessed efforts to support and accompany certain legal processes. A notable example of this is a Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruling in May 2022, which was the first decision regarding migration to declare the unconstitutionality of migration checkpoints. It was an interesting case handled in collaboration with the Institute for Women in Migration and UNAM’s Legal Clinic, who managed the protection and did an amazing job. However, socializing the implications of this ruling has been challenging as the Congress has to legislate on the matter, which has not occurred yet. We have carried out an accompaniment process to present the ruling and emphasize the importance of legislative action to both Congress Chambers. Other channels must be found, and I believe it is our responsibility to look for them.

CM: A documentary was produced based on the book Caravanas…
AFR: Yes, there is a documentary produced for Discovery Channel, Caravanas (Gorriti, 2019) and we participated in the script. I also produced a short film titled Vivas transitamos (We, Women, Transit Alive, Fernández de la Reguera Ahedo, 2021b), through UNAM’s Program to Support Research Projects and Technological Innovations (PAPIIT). The film focuses on migrant women in Tapachula and highlights the diversity of migrant women, including trans women and elderly women, whose processes are more complex to understand.

CM: There is a whole new culture in Tapachula, with great vitality. Does migration produce culture?
AFR: During our last visit to Tapachula we came across this fascinating Haitian bar, you didn’t feel like you were in Tapachula. There were semi-clandestine bars, tucked away in the back of the market, that had such a cool vibe with music and food. The city is changing. I’ve been going to Tapachula for eight years, and nowadays it looks different, people are on the streets eating and selling all kinds of different foods. Gastronomically, culturally, musically the city is evolving.

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