Central American immigrant mothers' narratives of intersecting oppressions: A resistant knowledge project

Abstract

Objective: In partnership with Central American mothers, the objective of this study was to engage in the coproduction of a resistant knowledge project, delineating how racialized and gendered structural oppression in the context of illegality conditioned mothers' opportunities to work, live, and do family in an immigrant enclave in the Washington, D.C. region. Background: While there is significant research describing Central American mother's experiences in the United States, it is critical to understand how interlocking structural oppressions operate in specific contexts to produce differential experiences of exploitation and marginalization. Method: This study is embedded in a larger community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) program. For this study, we analyzed 22 in-depth interviews with undocumented Central American immigrant mothers using a community-engaged coding process. Results: Findings illustrate how the interlocking forces of structural racism, heteropatriarchy, and illegality deprive Central American immigrant mothers of economic and other resources, exposing them to precarious, overcrowded housing, and toxic, abusive power relations. These oppressive structural forces also position women as dependent on men and their wages. In solidarity with their male partners, some mothers reached their family goals through shared parental sacrifice. For others, partner deportations and relational dysfunction were ruinous. Some mothers saw their liberation from intersecting oppressions as tied to their singlehood. Conclusion: Critical perspectives and alternative research approaches like CBPAR are needed in family science to advance understanding of how structural racism, heteropatriarchy, and illegality condition and constrain the lives of Central American immigrant mothers and other minoritized and marginalized families. CBPAR can also contribute to social movements for justice and people's liberation.