When the American Dream Stops: New Challenges after DACA for ELT University Students in Mexico

Abstract

In recent years, thousands of children and young people have been repatriated from the United States to Mexico. Their parents decided to return to their country of origin and not to host them to the DACA (deferred action for childhood arrivals) program.  The objective of this paper is double: first, to characterize the different profiles of young students who return to Mexico after having studied some or all grades of their basic and upper secondary education in the United States and who are repatriated to take up their university studies; and secondly the challenges in scholastic and social issues are analyzed, those that students face in their attempt to attend higher education in another country. The results suggest that having a space for these students in the Mexican educational system is not enough, it is necessary to develop programs that facilitate the inclusion of these young people both in the school and in the social context.