‘A citizen at last’: return migrants transcending identity and citizenship in Mexico's racialized regime

This article examines how 1.5-generation returnees, who grew up in the U.S., build substantive citizenship and belonging in Mexico. Drawing on Gmelch's (1980, “Return Migration.” Annual Review of Anthropology 9 (1): 135–159) concept of the ‘double-bind’ – the experience of being caught between two worlds without fully belonging to either – our analysis reveals that return to Mexico does not constitute a simple ‘homecoming’. Through a qualitative approach in three Mexican cities, we find that returnees face a dual challenge: first, they must navigate a labyrinthine redocumentation process to access formal citizenship. Second, they are forced to negotiate their belonging within a ‘racialized citizenship regime’ that positions them as ‘not Mexican enough’ due to their English language competency and ‘accented’ Spanish. Crucially, however, they are not passive victims of this double-bind. Many returnees demonstrate a remarkable agency to transcend monolithic notions of citizenship and identity. By rejecting restrictive narratives like the ‘DREAMer’ archetype, actively redefining what it means to be bicultural, and claiming their rights as Mexican citizens, these individuals forge their own definitions of belonging. The article argues that, through their practices and claim-making, the 1.5 generation not only navigates the double-bind but transcends it, creating a sense of substantive citizenship that is simultaneously hybrid, pragmatic, and deeply personal.