Between jamais vu and déjà vu of U.S. political and immigration scenarios in 2023 and 2025

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18046/retf.i23.8213

Keywords:

Migration policy, international migration, Latin American migrants, United States, migrant labor

Abstract

 

In America 2025, the return of Trump and the tightening of immigration policies was not entirely unexpected. Not for progressive sectors and moderate Republicans who were already warning about it. Even so, his return leaves an ambiguous sensation: we saw it coming with figures like Ron DeSantis, but it is still shocking. The metaphor of jamais vu and déjà vu is proposed to describe that oscillation between amazement and repetition. Rather than a regression or linear advance in migratory policy, it is a more radical re-edition of what has already been experienced. The research was developed within the framework of an undergraduate project, with fieldwork in Florida, through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis and review of secondary sources. The objective was to characterize the migration trajectories and labor challenges of Latinos in the construction sector, in a context transformed by SB 1718 of 2023. DeSantis’ measures anticipated the current national scenario, demonstrating that it was possible to radicalize the immigration agenda from the state level. Their impact has been key today in strengthening the Republican movement in the country and consolidating a political panorama that points to greater restrictions and adverse effects for both migrants and the U.S. economy. This article empirically links the localized experience of migrant workers in Fort Myers to an unfolding national political phenomenon. From the Florida case, it anticipates scenarios that are currently setting the immigration agenda under the new Trump administration.

 

Keywords: Migration policy; international migration; Latin American migrants; United States; migrant labor.

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Author Biographies

  • Valentina Delgado-Jaramillo, Icesi University

    Valentina Delgado-Jaramillo is an anthropologist and political scientist with a concentration in International Relations from Universidad Icesi (2024). Her work is situated at the intersection of migration, public policy, and the social production of knowledge, with a particular interest in how borders —normative, cultural, and symbolic— shape experiences of human mobility.

    Holding Colombian and U.S. citizenship, she currently works as a professional at the International Center for Training and Medical Research (CIDEIM), affiliated with the Social Innovation in Health Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean (SIHI LAC). Her research trajectory combines normative analysis of migration policies, ethnically grounded social design, and processes of social appropriation of knowledge.

    She has conducted fieldwork in Colombia and the United States, focusing on migratory trajectories and labor experiences of Latinx populations, exploring the tensions between state regulation, individual agency, and community-based practices. Her publications include a book chapter on linguistic revitalization in Vaupés and an essay published in the Spanish journal Gráfica, where she examines social design as a tool for cultural and ethnic processes.

  • Isabel Eraso-Cantor, Icesi University

    Isabel Eraso Cantor is an anthropologist and holds a degree in Literature from Universidad Icesi. A Colombian national, she works on projects at the Eduteka Center of the same university, where she focuses on the relationship between education and ICT in the educational field. Her research interests include educational intervention through literature, migratory trajectories narrated through life stories, cultural management of libraries, curricular design of virtual learning experiences, and gender perspectives focused on women’s sexual and reproductive health.

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Published

2026-11-15

Issue

No. 23 (2026): Español

Section

Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2026 Valentina Delgado-Jaramillo, Isabel Eraso-Cantor

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How to Cite

Between jamais vu and déjà vu of U.S. political and immigration scenarios in 2023 and 2025. (2026). Trans-Pasando Fronteras, 1(23). https://doi.org/10.18046/retf.i23.8213