The Militarization of Mexico's Border and its Impacts on Human Rights

Abstract

Between 800,000 and one million people are estimated to traverse Mexico from Central America each year, endeavoring to reach the United States. These migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees are forced north for a myriad of deeply personal reasons, but most commonly a combination of rampant crime and violence, economic insecurity, government failures, environmental forces, impacts from the global coronavirus pandemic, and, of course, a hope for a better life. Government policies that militarize migration control make the already daunting journey more dangerous. To that end, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has repeatedly voiced concern about policies that aim to militarize borders and their direct negative impact on human rights. But despite the corrosive effects on human rights, the militarization of national borders is increasing throughout the globe, and it is especially stark between “first world” and developing countries.