In the summer of 2024, I traveled to Mexico where I conducted nine weeks of ethnographic research with Central American migrants in Monterrey and Mexico City, two epicenters of migration from Central American. I returned to the University of Virginia (UVA) my senior year, with a deeper understanding of the migrant experience along the Mexico–US border. I also experienced profound gratitude for the relationships I formed with the immigrants I met. Professor Levi Vonk of UVA, the project leader, posed the primary research question for our team of three: How do humanitarian visas—a legal document unique to Mexico, which grants migrants [...]