Information seeking, technology use, and vulnerability among migrants at the United States-Mexico border

Through interviews with migrants and migrant aid-workers at a shelter in the border town of Nogales, Mexico, we examine how undocumented migrants are seeking, acquiring, understanding, and using information prior to, and during, migration across the United States-Mexico border. Our study examines mi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Information society Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 176 - 191
Main Authors Newell, Bryce Clayton, Gomez, Ricardo, Guajardo, Verónica E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Routledge 26.05.2016
Taylor & Francis LLC
Subjects
Activism
Arid zones
Border Patrol
borders
Caching
Cellular telephones
Communication
Crime
Death & dying
Desert environments
Humanitarianism
immigration
information behavior
information practices
information seeking
Information seeking behavior
Information technology
Migrant workers
Migrants
Migration
mobile phones
Noncitizens
Surveillance
Technology utilization
undocumented
Undocumented immigrants
Vulnerability
Water supply
United States > US
Mexico
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Summary:Through interviews with migrants and migrant aid-workers at a shelter in the border town of Nogales, Mexico, we examine how undocumented migrants are seeking, acquiring, understanding, and using information prior to, and during, migration across the United States-Mexico border. Our study examines migrants' perceptions of humanitarian service and the use of so-called "border disturbance technologies" by activists to help prevent the death of migrants in the desert, finding that migrants appreciate water-caching efforts but generally distrust technologies they feel could subject them to surveillance by border agents. Exploratory in nature and based on a small sample, our findings are not necessarily representative of the broader population, but provide rich evidence of the prevalence of word-of-mouth information seeking and use of cell phones over other information technologies, and explore the ambivalent nature of information technology use in the vulnerable setting of life at the border. In particular, we find that mobile phones help migrants meet their communication needs, but also increase their exposure to crime and abuse.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0197-2243
1087-6537
DOI:10.1080/01972243.2016.1153013