Tabacalera, a downtown Mexico City neighborhood known as “Little LA,” has become a refuge for Mexicans deported from the United States, especially people who spent years or decades there and now find Mexico unfamiliar.
The neighborhood’s English-speaking community, call-centre jobs and support from the organisation New Comienzos help returnees address practical needs such as identity documents, employment and reintegration. The need is expected to grow as deportations under the Trump administration increase.
A neighborhood built around familiarity and support
Tabacalera’s palm-lined avenues, cafes, cantinas and mix of English and Spanish give it a distinctly US feel. For returnees with limited memories of Mexico, that atmosphere can make the transition less isolating.
New Comienzos, founded by Israel Concha, provides legal support, free English certification and classes, and mentorship for recent arrivals. Concha describes its base in Little LA as a “community reintegration lab.”
Related coverage: Nearly 2,300 Mexican Nationals Sent Through Guatemala After US Deportation.
From deportation to an uncertain return
Christopher Gil Ortíz was stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while travelling to work in Los Angeles in June, detained and deported after more than 30 years in the United States. He left behind his wife and two young children.
After arriving in Tulum, he travelled to Cancún, where his belongings were stolen from a hotel room, before going to Mexico City to stay near family. He still needed a birth certificate, identification and a job. A post from New Comienzos led him to Little LA, where he applied for work at a glass-making factory.
Why demand may increase
Since returning to office in January 2025, Donald Trump has deported roughly 145,500 Mexican nationals, according to the supplied source material. New Comienzos’s Concha said he expects mass deportations in the coming months and described the atmosphere in the United States as one of crisis and panic.
Concha established the organisation after his own deportation. He had lived in Texas for 30 years and was deported in 2014 after spending two years fighting his case in detention. In Mexico, he said he was kidnapped and beaten on his first day before escaping to Mexico City, where he found work at a bilingual call centre.
Jobs and community in Little LA
English-language call centres have attracted young returnees to Tabacalera, and Sergio Aaron Pérez, who lived in the United States for more than 30 years before being deported in 2011, found work there. He said English speakers can earn well and that the area has a strong sense of community.
Ortíz’s next priority is bringing his wife and children to Mexico. He said his children were accepting the move, even as the family adjusts to life in a country that is native to him but unfamiliar after decades away.
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