Bodies on the Move: Central Americans’ Strategies for Coping with the Marks of Irregularity

In the current migration system, mobility in an irregular context affects the migrant body physically and mentally. This article seeks to identify the ways irregular Central American migrants in transit through Mexico continue their journey northwards despite the physical demands of the route. Through the analysis of forty-two in-depth interviews with migrants, it shows how migrants respond to this experience through a repertoire of actions developed in a context of marginalization. Two practices illustrate the strategies and resources they use to resist. The first is the mobilization of a cultural capital of migration within both local and transnational social networks in their countries of origin, transit, and destination, through economic and technological resources. The second is physical and mental resistance based on optimism underpinned by values such as the family and faith.