When Return Orders Are More than Just a Deportation Receipt: Transit Migration and Socio-legal Meanings of Administrative Documents

In this article we argue that, in this specific context, the fundamental element for defining a person as a “migrant in transit” has been an administrative document (the return order) that confirms an infraction (the irregular entry) and provides for the imposition of a coercive measure (returning the migrant to the country of origin or the country from which they came). The interesting thing about the return order is that social practice transcends its formal sanctioning implication, acquiring other meanings, connotations and utilities depending on the moment, becoming a key document in assistance centers.