November 2024
The city of Tijuana on the US-Mexico border is well known for its affordable rents compared to San Diego (California), job opportunities, restaurants and traffic problems, but also for being one of the busiest ports of entry for migrants to the US. Thousands of asylum seekers from all over the world and Mexico suffer from its insecurity and easy access to drugs and sex (Marchand & Ramírez, 2019). Most of them arrive in the city with the desire to make their CBP One appointment with the US authorities and cross to the other side (Kocher, 2023).
CBP One is a mobile application launched by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2020 for asylum seekers to make appointments to present themselves at ports of entry to apply for asylum. This application is difficult to access and opaque, often creating false expectations for people in transit (Amnesty International 2023). Many of those who don't make the appointment will cross illegally; others, will remain in the city indefinitely.
Despite the heavy presence of local police on their streets, migrant women feel particularly vulnerable in the city (Silva & Alfaro, 2021). Based on their experiences during their journey north, they distrust the authorities who neglect and violate their rights, rather than protecting them as the Mexican government narrative claims (Angulo-Pasel, 2019). Neglect and hostility exacerbate violence from others, further delaying their recovery from the traumatic experiences of the journey. The dangers of the city prevent them from moving freely and force them into clandestinity.
For two weeks, Professor María López led a team of five fieldworkers from the University of Baja California, Mexico, and the University of San Diego California, US. Following a busy schedule, they visited five migrant shelters and several government organisations on both sides of the border and heard from migrant women, lawyers and activists about the experiences and needs of migrant women and the challenges organisations face in supporting people in transit.
While experiencing the challenges of conducting fieldwork in the city, the team gathered powerful first-hand accounts of women’s experiences of violence and fear, and how the lack of government information and resources, as well as changing bureaucracy on both sides of the border, created false expectations. But they also heard about their resilience and the mechanisms women use to cope with adversity, protect themselves and continue their journey north. In this sense, for many of them, the migration journey is a transformative experience from which they emerge stronger.
This fieldwork is the third phase of the project Women on the run: Narrative of Violence against Women in transit through Mexico. The team is currently analysing the data and will present preliminary findings soon.
María López has published advances of this project at the Canadian Journal of Latin American Studies.
Image: María López and her team interviewing at Espacio Migrante in Tijuana.