Abstract
In 2014, approximately 11.1 million undocumented individuals resided in the United States (Passel and Cohn (2016). Today, Mexican-born immigrants make up 24.8 percent of the foreign-born population, making them one of the largest groups of foreign-born in the U.S. (Lopez and Radford 2015). This study, explores the claims of belonging and legal vulnerability of DACAmented and undocumented Mexican youth in the U.S., Specifically under the Trump administration. This qualitative study uses Borderlands theory to show how undocumented youth’s claims of belonging. A total of 6 interviews were conducted for this study, these participants were selected through snowball sampling. Three themes emerged: 1) An increased sense of legal vulnerability under the Trump administration; 2) A sense of belonging in the US based on their identities as Mexican-Americans; and 3) An acute sense of powerlessness given their circumstances.