Return Migration and Return Intention in Times of Crisis: Dominican Return During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This chapter examines the factors of return migration and return intention of Dominican migrants, from Spain, during the COVID-19 global pandemic. During the Spanish economic bonanza of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, migrants played a crucial role as foreign workers in the care and construction sectors. However, with the global financial crisis that started in 2008, some of those migrants became unwanted and “unwelcomed”, which sparked rounds of changes in public policies which stripped away rights from migrant communities. These state actions sparked processes of return migration, both planned and spontaneous. Likewise, the global health crisis started by the COVID-19 pandemic sparked rounds of state actions, however, very little is known as to how these changes affected migrant communities, specifically with respect to processes of return. Based on a transnational perspective and shock mobilities theory, this exploratory research claims that state policies had very little impact, if any, on Dominican return migration and return intention. In the end, it seems that factors such as having access to the health care system and social assistance programs, fearing violence associated to discrimination and xenophobia, or following a long-term strategy of family re/production proved to be more consequential to individuals and family units.