A longitudinal analysis of resource mobilisation among forced and voluntary return migrants in Mexico

The rise in U.S. deportations has resulted in a growing number of studies focused on the reintegration experiences of these migrants in their home communities. Based on interviews with deportees shortly after their arrival home, these studies paint a picture of economic gloom, finding that deportees are too frequently stigmatized by governments and employers and consequently unemployed or working on the margins of their home economies. In contrast, our longitudinal and comparative study, which draws on the findings of 93 deported and voluntary migrants in Leon, Mexico, finds convergence in the labor market trajectories and social mobility outcomes of deportees and non-deportees, which reduces initial labor market disparities over time. We found that deportation can stymie migrants' initial labor market re-entry, often relegating former migrants to undesirable jobs in the informal labor market, while they re-familiarize themselves with their local labor markets and identify promising opportunities. Yet, in the long run, successful reintegration depends primarily on the acquisition and mobilization of human and financial capital across the migratory circuit.