The emotional impacts of deportation: the case of Ana Laura, a view from social work

Abstract

Migrations have different edges, there are different ways and they can change abruptly or be continuous, which makes their analysis quite difficult. The case of Mexico is a sample of this complexity. Due to its economic, political, geographical and cultural characteristics, a country of emigration has been specified for its vast expulsion of migrants who traditionally go to the United States; of transit, this due to its location in one of the most important migratory corridors; of immigration, for being a pole of attraction for retirees (mainly Americans and Canadians) and for the various opportunities that are offered to people of other nationalities and, finally, of return of migrants, most of those from United States, either voluntarily or forcedly. The literature on migration has focused primarily on explaining the causes and consequences of countries of origin and destination in the migration process and, to a lesser extent, on the transit and return of migrants. In this article, we focus on this last type of migration. Through the case of Ana Laura and, from the perspective of social work, we explore the impacts and challenges involved in deportation under a context of despair generated by the States themselves through their migration policies, in this case Mexico and the United States.