Border rootedness as transformative resistance: youth overcoming violence and inspection in a US-Mexico border region

This essay addresses Mexican immigrant and children of immigrants' 'border citizenship' as they negotiate space, post-secondary education, national citizenship/s and immigration status, and the transgressive aspects of their transnational and transitional identities. As they travel to and from college, these young adults confront surveillance and racism by border reinforcers within an institutional setting and when crossing border inspection points, while learning strategies of transformative resistance. This essay examines how young people manage their cross-border lived experiences, and their daily survival of 'rights' infringements at the Border and within academic settings.