Informal networks, phones and Facebook: Information seeking and technology use by undocumented migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border

Through semi-structured interviews with recently deported and other migrants and migrant aid-workers at a shelter in the border town of Nogales, Mexico, we examine how undocumented migrants are seeking, acquiring, understanding, and using information prior to, and during, migration across the U.S.-Mexico border. We document the prevalence of word-of-mouth information seeking and use of cell phones over other information technologies to inform plans for border-crossing, and explore the ambivalent nature of information technology use in the vulnerable setting of life at the border.