Catalina Betancur Velez ’23Majors: Global Studies and Political ScienceFaculty Mentor: Dr. Casey Stephens, Political Scienc

Betancur Velez, Catalina

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Networks of Care:An Autoethnography on these Innovative Products of the Migrant Journey as Outlets for One’s Development of CitizenshipCatalina Betancur VélezSpring 2023Research Question★ What are the factors that influence a migrant’s understanding and development of citizenship as a sentiment in relation to the government and place in a community?★ The concept of citizenship extends beyond the application of the law and rather relies on what lies outside the law, on what remains “illegal”○ Understanding citizenship as a multi-dimensional state○ Identifying influences beyond the law★ Why autoethnography? To incorporate biasThemes:➢ Borrowed time➢ Violence➢ Voice➢ Networks of Care **Networks of Migrant Care“My tongue is divided into twoA border patrol runs through the middlefrisking wordsasking for proper identificationchecking for pronunciation“My tongue is divided in two”, Quique Aviles (2004)My tongue is divided into twoMy tongue is divided into twoI like my tongueit says what feels rightI like my tongueit says what feels right”Networks of Migrant Care“Migrants came through Mexico, denouncing their countries of origin throughout their journey and they started to make the system shake. And the system responded as it always does – with repressive measures... “Ruben Figueroa, Coordinator of the Mesoamerican Migrant MovementNetworks of Migrant Care“Your body is the first territory you must defend”Mayra Leticia Belmares - The House of the Woman Ixim AnseticNetworks of Migrant Care“And they showed us a lot: that there is a movement in this exodus – that they are forced, but that there exists a movement, a collective consciousness there, … they were teaching us that they are protagonists of their own struggles and also their own acts of resistance”Figueroa continuedConclusion➢ Changed perception of concepts beyond the law➢ Pride in other outlets of citizenship➢ Uplifting and amplifying voices➢ Continued autoethnographyThank you!Catalina Betancur VélezContact: cbetanc1@friars.providence.eduBorrowed Time➢ The sentiment of a cloud of unsolicited debt over your head when labeled a foreigner➢ Juan Felipe Herrera’s Everyday We Get More Illegal (2020)○ “Good Moral Character” - must be proven to be considered for a legal status➢ Responsibilities that come with being an immigrant in the US - children○ Everything is to “repay” your opportunity to be here➢ Unsolicited opportunity - Ecologies of Migrant Care Project○ Proving themselves to be deserving of their humanity➢ Violent forces that inflict and demand the state of borrowed timeViolence➢ 2 forms of violence:1. Verbal - microaggressions - Rankine’s Citizen (2014)a. Absence of translators in medical settingsb. Ignorance - obstacle➢ Microaggressions conversion into injuries1. Physical - injury - Vogt’s Lives in Transit (2018)a. “Accidents” - train amputationsb. Physical and metaphorical fragmentation of migrant identities➢ Structural vulnerability ○ “Economy of fear” - invisibility to the state➢ Who has taken the responsibility to see these people, and how?Voice➢ The product reaction of the forces of violence and borrowed time➢ Duality:a. Quieting of the voiceb. Reclaiming of power through voice➢ Whispering: quiet form of reclaiming ➢ Vogt’s amplification of whispers (Jessenia)➢ Power of one’s name - pride➢ Voices build up communitiesCurrent Literature: Theories of Citizenship➢ 2 Processes of citizenship:➢ Rights attained➢ The need to contribute to the community➢ Current disagreement on the role of law: (Skinner, 1993)○ Contractarians - law establishes rights○ Republicans - law tells citizens their obligations➢ Lerman & Weaver (2014) - law-abiding behavior + community = key, but law enforcement reduces belonging and distorts citizenship.➢ Malleability and contested aspects in older theories:○ Citizenship extends beyond political representation or the political and social implications that come from this [Sommers (1994), Fourcade (2021), Bloemraad (2014)]➢ Gap: Emphasis on quantitative methods - disregard/downplay the humanity in the rawness as someone develops their own identity Law as the mediator (L&W)Autoethnography as the Method➢ Collecting data by acknowledging all biases and past experiences that will influence the researcher’s perception of the findings➢ Student versus Researcher - separating these two entities to treat how the student processes the material as data○ Footnotes➢ Researcher as the learner➢ Material: raw and refined pieces of writing, recordings, and performances➢ Student interacts - researcher conducts a narrative inquiry➢ Allows me to consider my own development of citizenship○ Uplifting the raw voices that produce the material

Networks of Care: An Autoethnography on these Innovative Products of the Migrant Journey as Outlets for One’s Development of Citizenship

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Networks of Care: An Autoethnography on these Innovative Products of the Migrant Journey as Outlets for One’s Development of Citizenship

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