More than a Northward Migratory Corridor: Changes in Transit Migration and Migration Policy in Mexico

Abstract

This chapter analyses some of the main changes that have taken place over the last three decades in Mexico in terms of transit migration, migration policy, and the advocacy role of civil society actors around migration. Since the 1990s, migration containment policies put in place in Mexico and the United States have meant that Mexico can no longer be seen as simply a south-north migration corridor but rather as a space of precarious, uncertain, and fragmented journeys. The analysis here is based principally on data from the administrative records of the National Institute of Migration (Instituto Nacional de Migración, INM) and other sources. This chapter also draws on interviews by the author with migrants and key informants conducted since 1999 across Mexico and on material from the author's participation in (and observations of) organizational networks and institutional spaces centered on migration policy proposals. The chapter highlights the main changes in the patterns and trends of transit migration over the period, as well as changes in migrant profiles. It finds that transit migration is far more complex than the Mexican government is willing to recognize. Indeed, despite it being a long-established mode of migration in Mexico, many aspects of transit migration remain little understood. While the official data sources available have some limitations, they can be complemented with other data and with specific quantitative and qualitative studies to further elucidate the patterns of transit migration in the region.