The Independent View: New Groups in Mexico Offer Aid to Young Generation of Deported DREAMers

A New Generation of Migrants is arriving in Mexico: Young Adults who were Born in Mexico, Raised in the U.S. and are now Returning, some Voluntarily, some by Force, to the Country of their Birth. They've been dubbed "Generation 1.5."

With only Limited Support available from the Mexican Government for these often Well-Educated Returnees, several Nongovernmental Organizations and at least One Private Company are looking to help them out and take Advantage of their Skills.

At the Start-UP, Hola Code in Mexico City, 20 or so Young People in a Conference Room pepper their Instructor with Questions about Coding and finding Jobs in Mexico's Software industry. Their queries flicker between Spanish and English. "How long does the whole interview process take? What do they ask you?"

Hola Code is a Software Engineering program focused on Integrating former Migrants who Returned or were Deported to Mexico.

These Students hope to turn their U.S. Experience into a Tech Career. Among them are several DREAMers, young People who were brought to the U.S. Illegally as Children and later Protected from Deportation by the Obama Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).

The Trump Administration tried to Cancel DACA in 2017, but that effort is being challenged in the Courts. Still, under President Trump, DACA Protection has become much more Precarious.

Marcela Torres, the CEO of Hola Code, says she Founded the Company in 2017 when she saw that the Mexican Government wasn't doing enough to Assist Returnees, many of whom could barely speak Spanish. "The brutality of arriving to a country that you don't know and it's supposed to be your home and it's not ready for you is incredible," says Torres. "And the amount of people coming back is also very large to the extent that if Mexico doesn't do something about this, it's going to be an entire generation that gets lost."

In response to the Growing Number of Returnees, the Mexican Government in 2014 launched a Program called Somos Mexicanos aimed at helping Returning Migrants integrate into Mexican Society, offering things like Health services, Phone Access, and Local Transportation, but Critics say the Program has been Ineffective and Underfunded.

In addition to Software Training, Hola Code provides Meals, Banking Services, Yoga Classes, and Mental Health Support during its Five-month Program. Students don't Pay for Classes until they land a Job, often with one of the Company's 116 Hiring Partners.

Torres says her Start-Up is meant to help Anchor New Arrivals. These Binational Migrants, she points out, often describe themselves as de aquí y allá, "from here and there," the U.S. and Mexico. But, she adds, they can also feel like they are neither from here nor from there.

Mexico needs these New Arrivals, says Torres, noting that Thousands of Tech Jobs go Unfilled because of a Lack of Qualified Applicants.

Andrea Bautista agrees with Hola Code's Torres that Mexico is Not doing enough to help. A Researcher at the Colegio de México who Studies Migration, she says the Returnees have trouble accessing the necessary Documents to get Basic Services like Education and Health Care and so end up Undocumented in their Home Country too. "Having these people come back who have this profile and level of education ... we don't know how to deal with them or integrate them," says Bautista. "And that's the problem — a lot remains to be done to get them into the system ... and to take advantage of their abilities."

Mexico is already feeling the Influence of these Returnees. In the heart of Mexico City is a New Community that has come to be known as Little LA. It's a part of the City where many Call Centers are located and English-speaking Workers congregate at Food Stalls featuring Tex-Mex Cuisine that offers a taste of Home.