HAITIAN MIGRANTS AT THE MEXICO-U.S. BORDER: HEGEMONY, THE INTEGRAL STATE, AND SUBALTERN CLASSES

Abstract

This dissertation is an ethnographic and theoretical exploration to Haitian migrant experiences in the border city of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Thousands of Haitians arrived in Tijuana from South America in mid-2016, hoping to enter the United States through a request for humanitarian asylum. I argue that Haitian migration across the continent and at the Mexico-U.S. border represents a problem of hegemony because it contains the Haitian subaltern aspiration to be part of an active international workforce. This aspiration takes shape through their geographical mobility and their humanitarian demand, and it is the product of specific historical conditions. Thus, my research asked: what can the Mexico-U.S. border teach us about Haitian migrations, and what can we learn about Mexico's northern border from the experiences of the Haitian migrants who arrived and resettled in Tijuana? This dissertation answers these questions utilizing a Gramscian framework focused on hegemonic struggles and negotiations. Additionally, by addressing Haitian migration in Tijuana, my dissertation contributes to questioning the Mexican state, its migrant inclusion policies, and its social integration dynamics.