Immobilised flight in Tijuana: Mexican women forcibly displaced to the United States

Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals, 129
Publication date: 12/2021
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Aída Silva Hernández. Investigadora posdoctoral, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte; profesora, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). aida.silva@uabc.edu.mx. ORCID: https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-7979-7192 

Beatriz Alfaro Trujillo. Consultora-investigadora independiente; profesora, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). beatriz.alfaro@uabc.edu.mx 

This article analyses living conditions in the border city of Tijuana (Mexico) for Mexican women forcibly displaced from their places of residence due to family violence and organised crime who intend to request asylum in the United States. The US manages asylum applications with a system of daily quotas that are too small to meet the demand. Hence, all asylum seekers are contained on the Mexican side of the border as they wait to submit their application, which can take over a year. For displaced Mexican women this hiatus in their escape leaves them in a liminal state at the border in terms of subsistence, security and mental health, and exposes them to re-victimisation. Since March 2020, this has been exacerbated by measures to combat COVID-19.

Este trabajo recupera parte de los hallazgos de la investigación «Efectos del desplazamiento forzado interno en niñas, niños y adolescentes y sus familias en Tijuana y Mexicali, B.C. durante la COVID-19», financiada por UNICEF-Tijuana y realizada por las autoras entre agosto de 2020 y febrero de 2021. 

Keywords: forced internal displacement, borders, violence against women, immobility, Mexico, Tijuana

How to cite this article: Silva Hernández, Aída y Alfaro Trujillo, Beatriz. «Huida inmovilizada en Tijuana: desplazamiento forzado de mujeres mexicanas hacia Estados Unidos». Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, n.º 129 (diciembre de 2021), p. 57-77. DOI: doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2021.129.3.57

Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals n.º 129, p. 57-77
Quadrimestral (October-December 2021)
ISSN:1133-6595 | E-ISSN:2013-035X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2021.129.3.57

Reception date: 19.04.21 ; Acceptance date: 02.09.21

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