Sara Moya

Undocumented migrants use paqueterías—small, family-owned courier services that transport various objects, including home-cooked meals—between México and the US via commercial airlines to stay connected with their communities and families in México when they cannot return home. The gray economy of paqueterías contributes to México's Courier, Express, and Parcel Market, with an estimated value of $2.5 billion in 2024 by fabricating a care economy. This research considers how undocumented migrants use paqueterías to build and invest in imagined futures in México, exchange gifts to reinforce relationships, and ultimately, find ways to cross the border, when they cannot do so corporeally.