“Aquí Pero No Estoy Aquí ”

This chapter develops the core argument of the book: reconsidering what it means to be a citizen and to belong in a community through dynamic local citizenship as practiced at the Portbridge Day Labor Center (DLC). Because most workers at the DLC were unauthorized to live and work in the United States, the chapter examines illegality as a central challenge of being undocumented. Stretched between nations, the sentiment of feeling “neither here, nor there” provided insight into the dislocation that often accompanies migration. Yet migrant workers at the DLC established themselves as part of the local community by securing daily jobs, renting apartments, purchasing tools and other essentials, and even intentionally paying taxes. In these actions, migrants enacted dynamic local citizenship , becoming active participants in community life as they strive to create home . Interactions between migrants, employers, and residents were mediated by the safety and security of the Center itself, sanctioned by the city and supported by participants. This chapter points to the significant contribution this model provides to enhance our understanding of how migrants might be more aptly incorporated into society.