Migration in Mexico: complexities and challenges

Migration in Mexico: complexities and challenges

September 21, 2022

Mexico has one of the most complex migratory contexts in the world, one that is marked by high levels of emigration and increasingly large numbers of forcibly deported returnees, people in transit, migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and internally displaced people.

Although these flows are increasing, Mexico still lacks a coordinated policy to fully integrate new arrivals into the daily life of the country. Given this context, this paper reviews the recent history of migration in the country, with a special emphasis on the policy responses that have emerged in recent years.

It does so by conducting an exhaustive analysis of the available primary and secondary data, drawing on local and federal legal and public policy frameworks, various studies and analyses by academics or civil society organizations and public opinion on the subject.

The text argues that although the current context in Mexico might be considered favourable to migration, the lack of a coherent, coordinated migration and integration policy is generating conditions that favour the exclusion of those attempting to settle in the country or transit through it.

This jeopardizes social cohesion and increases the vulnerabilities of the population in movement. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations.