Migrant rhetoric as refugeness

This article critiques rigid distinctions between "migrant" and "refugee," demonstrating how these categories, shaped by State and institutional interests, obscure the lived realities of those making refuge, whose migration resists classification. We introduce refugeness as a dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCommunication and critical/cultural studies Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 144 - 164
Main Authors Mejía, Oscar Alfonso, Ono, Kent A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 03.04.2025
Subjects
home
immigration
Latina
Mexican
migrant
migration
Refuge
refugee
sanctuary
testimonio
undocumented
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Summary:This article critiques rigid distinctions between "migrant" and "refugee," demonstrating how these categories, shaped by State and institutional interests, obscure the lived realities of those making refuge, whose migration resists classification. We introduce refugeness as a discursive and material practice that challenges these binaries, demonstrating how migrants construct refuge through discourse, activism, and community. Analyzing Jeanette Vizguerra's testimonio, we highlight how migration policies reinforce exclusion while migrants create spaces of belonging beyond legal and State recognition. By reframing migration as an ongoing negotiation of survival, home, and autonomy, refugeness highlights the active rhetorical process of homemaking.
ISSN:1479-1420
1479-4233
DOI:10.1080/14791420.2025.2503813