Migrants are also victims of kidnapping through job offers

Migrants have also been victims of kidnapping by organized crime, through job offers, and once deprived of their freedom They are victims of extortion by being forced to use their banking applications and by being asked by their relatives to make instant electronic transfers., declared the Dr. Michele Ferris Dobles, postdoctoral researcher at María Sibylla Merian Center for Advanced Latin American Studies (CALAS), attached to University Center for Social Sciences (CUCSH) from the UdeG. 

“Technology in the migration process It is very complex. People They use it and appropriate it for their own needs, such as share information, maintain affective networks across borders, but also through communication technology It opens up many risks. Access to real-time money opened up many risks for them, because now Organized crime knows that migrating people have access to instant cash“,” explained Ferris Dobles, who is also an academic at the Universidad de Costa Rica.

Based on his fieldwork and volunteering in shelters The Migrant House Shelter, FM4 Free passage from Guadalajara and the Saltillo Migrant HouseIn Coahuila, the researcher addressed the The relationship between migration, communication, and technology, and has been able to identify aspects related to the various communicative practices, technological uses and agency of migrants. 

He pointed out that while technology empowers migrants, necessary take into account other structural aspects in order to identify all the facets that make up the relationship between migration and technologies. In response, shelters have sought to reduce these risks by creating job banks, but these offers exceed the demand for employment. 

“We have documented cases where extortion was carried out through PayPal, Western Union, among others. So, I was also very struck by how these digital money transfer applications also They become part of this organized crime infrastructure“,” Ferris Dobles emphasized. 

During her fieldwork, the professor from the Universidad de Costa Rica has documented cases in which migrants They use security strategies to reduce the risk of disappearance In the event of being kidnapped, in its various forms, such as sharing their location on WhatsApp, they could be vulnerable. While this reduces the risk of disappearance, it doesn't eliminate the possibility of more serious consequences, as simply getting rid of the device would suffice. 

Other uses of technology 
 

Another aspect that the researcher has worked on in her research is the instrumental use of technology for purposes such as entertainmentMusic consumption; but above all, the establishment of emotional connections with family and friends. A very relevant aspect in these mobility processes that helps manage the various physical and psychological challenges.. 

Other Common practices include route design in map applications, the sharing of rest or lodging locationsas well as practical advice on transportation services, regularization procedures, among others. The researcher identifies this as the hybrid navigation, since it goes from the digital to the physical world and as a process that is built collectively. 

“We also found that the record of your mobility process He has been very relevant with photos and videos, for example, of his train journeys, especially for young men. These are risky and very difficult processes. There is also a more affectionate use they make of technology to feel accompanied"It is communication linked to the most vital feelings, to feeling connected to something and to informing that they are alive," explains the Costa Rican researcher.

Migratory immobility in Mexico identified as being due to the political context in the USA 
 

Regarding the current state of migration in Mexico, Ferris Dobles said that, since the tightening of immigration policies in the United States of America, a large part of the people who have arrived in Mexico They are staying in the country, since it is very difficult for them to return to their countries of origin because the structural conditions that forced them to leave have not been resolved.

He said the chances of entering the United States of America (USA) have decreased significantly, especially after Donald Trump's return to the presidency. Factors such as Cancellation of asylum application applications through the CBP system 1, ICE's expulsion mechanisms as a strategy to spread fearThe hate speech against the migrant population by Trump, as well as the context of insecurity in Mexico, have reduced the possibility of reaching and entering the neighboring country.

“We started to notice that the The flow of migrants to the United States was quite dense and suddenly it stopped.But people aren't inactive; they continue doing things like looking for jobs or completing regularization procedures. It's a process of active waiting because, despite being in a waiting period, They continue to do things even though they are in shelters, “Since they can stay in these places for up to six or eight months,” the book's author explained. Migration in the digital age (The University Chicago Press, 2026).

“There is also what is known as the 'externalization of borders''"Where the US transfers the problem to other countries like Mexico to solve it," the researcher denounced. This phenomenon of The externalization of borders has intensified through media discourse. He added that they are aligned with Trump's policies and are active on social media platforms. 

Attentively
"Piensa y Trabaja"
“40 Years of the Guadalajara International Book Fair”
Guadalajara, Jalisco, July 29, 2026

Text: Ernesto Navarro López
Photography: Michele Ferris Dobles