Rhizomatic familias: Toward a new conceptual framework of mixed status youth and their families in the United States

Abstract

This study explores the extent to which the testimonios of three mixed status youth in North Carolina reflect the rhizomatic familias construct, which theorizes the existence and lived realities of mixed status families as intrinsically connected through a shared network of interconnected experiences related to the effects of illegality. Participants offer their perspectives on federal immigration policies and the restrictive policy context in North Carolina, identifying a series of state policies with detrimental effects on their capacity to navigate daily life and their socio-emotional state. They also provide reflections on their educational experiences in the state’s K-12 public education institutions, pinpointing a number of systemic barriers impeding their ability to succeed academically and their sense of belonging in these spaces. The study also examines the policy and educational implications of the rhizomatic familias construct as operationalized in mixed status youths’ accounts.