Yolanda Valencia, University of Washington, Department of Geography
How do immigrant women experience risk and vulnerability during the immigration journey? This is the main question of my analysis. My research examines vulnerability across the migrant journey at three specific sites: 1) the place of origin 2) the borderlands 3) and the destination. My theoretical framework includes literature on displacement of populations in Mexico, borderland studies and the governance of immigrant bodies in the U.S. My analysis draws from testimonies of embodied experiences of vulnerability Mexican women faced when they crossed the US-Mexico border. My goal is to compare migrants’ experiences across several sites of one migrant journey. I seek to adequately understand the shifting experiences and causes of vulnerability for immigrant women as they migrate from their home country, in the borderlands and also in their destination. I also seek to uncover root causes, historical discourses and processes that contribute to such experiences in the first place.
Contact: valeny@uw.edu
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