Translingual Narratives in Precarity: Narrativizing Undocumented Immigrant Status

Immigrants with an undocumented status or those in mixed-status families live in a state of precarity and vulnerability due to the possibility of separation, detainment, or deportation. To publicly share their stories portends possible surveillance or discrimination. However, many still share their stories – and do so on their own terms – to shift mainstream discourses on immigration. While research on undocumented status narratives has mainly focused on textual structure, story lines, and negotiation of identities, more attention is needed on ways they negotiate precarity. That is, we must analyze how individuals utilize translingual practices to remain faithful to their identities and experiences while also navigating dominant discourses. This chapter will explore how translingual practices such as code alternation (i.e., code-switching and codemeshing) might provide resources for narrators to negotiate this vulnerability by helping them to index in-group values, mask relevant information from outsiders, represent belonging, and construct new textual homes that sidestep surveillance or appropriation. We will draw on two publicly available reclaimant narratives to examine the role of translingual practices in non-academic writing. Our analysis of these narratives will take translingual practices beyond the classroom to social spaces where the rights and livelihood of numerous people are at stake.