Adventures in El Norte: The Identities and Immigration of Unaccompanied Youth

Research on migration typically focuses on adults; yet, each year, thousands of children and adolescents immigrate to the United States independently. The experiences and identities of these young immigrants are complicated by a myriad of social locations, not least of all their gender identity. Based on sixteen qualitative interviews with men who immigrated to the United States as unaccompanied minors in the 1990s and 2000s, this article provides an intersectional understanding of the dynamic relationship between masculine identity and migration experience for adolescent men who migrate by themselves. In particular, this work explores how migration can serve as a “male quest story,” allows young men to take economic responsibility for their families, and provides the opportunity for men to escape local forms of violent masculinities. © 2016, © The Author(s) 2016.