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Migration Biopolitics: Scenarios of Securitization, Containment, and Violence in the Trajectories of Transit Migration through Mexico

Loredana Amelio Flores, Nayeli Burgueño Angulo — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impacts of migration policies on the trajectories and living conditions of migrants during their transit through Mexico, as they seek to reach the northern border and eventually cross into the United States. It seeks to understand how the formulation and implementation of these policies violently affect human mobility, by examining the historical relationship between the United States and Latin America. This relationship is reflected in the imposition of securitization policies intended to halt migratory flows through containment strategies designed beyond national borders.

Nation-states implement such policies under the pretext of national security and border defense, giving rise to multiple forms of violence rooted in biopolitical and necropolitical logics that expose migrants to risk and death. Through micro-social qualitative research, this study analyzes how anti-immigrant power structures—devised by the Global North—are inscribed on migrants' bodies. Their narratives allow for an understanding of the structural and symbolic configuration of their migratory experience as they travel through Mexico.

Networks of life in Central American migration transiting through Mexico. A case study in Zacatecas

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the last five years, migrant flows from South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, have increased despite the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic. As a result, their numbers have decreased, but migrants from these regions have always been present in Mexico, striving to achieve "their American dream." At the end of 2020, the countries that make up the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTC) had approximately one million people outside their places of origin, most of whom were already residing in the United States or experiencing international migration in transit. The migrant caravans that began in 2018 increased the flow and allowed for the incorporation of a greater number of female and minor migrants, both accompanied and unaccompanied, making up one-tenth of the total migrant population in the Northern Triangle of Central America. Regardless of the type of support offered to Central American migrants, their ability to cope with problems during their transit to the United States varies, depending on the socioeconomic characteristics of the individuals involved in this experience, the functionality of their social support networks, and their skills in managing digital networks.

Community-based healthcare strategies in transnational spaces: Sinaloan migrants living in California

Ismael García Castro, Alicia Medina Herrera, María José — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The findings suggest that transnational links function as a "transnational psychosocial space," characterized by strain, violence, and helplessness. Those involved in these relationships often experience learned hopelessness or interpret their optimism as hope, which keeps them trapped in unequal relationships.

This paper analyzes the conditions of vulnerability and risk faced by transnational migrant communities in their search for survival. Specifically, it addresses community-based health care strategies implemented by migrants from Sinaloa, Mexico, with destination communities settled in Southern California, United States. The study includes ethnographic work in the origin and destination locations, including interviews with community physicians, patients and key informants, such as community leaders, medication providers, and other health care-related services, particularly in destination locations where what we have termed an “undocumented transnational health system” operates.

Barriers to health care and their consequences for undocumented Mexican migrants in Los Angeles: A qualitative analysis.

Nubia Alejandrina Garcia Barcenas, Dellanira Ruiz de Chávez Ramírez — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study reveals the profound barriers faced by undocumented Mexican migrants in Los Angeles in accessing healthcare services. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, it documents experiences shaped by fear, discrimination, high costs, bureaucracy, and language barriers, all of which hinder timely and dignified medical care. These conditions not only impact their physical and mental health but also compel them to adopt survival strategies such as self-medication, traditional remedies, or forced return to Mexico. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as those of Rawls, Penchansky, and Marmot, the study highlights how the system perpetuates structural inequalities and violates fundamental human rights. Nevertheless, migrants demonstrate remarkable resilience by building support networks and alternative forms of care. This research calls for a rethinking of health policies from an inclusive, intercultural, and social justice-oriented perspective.

Active citizenship exercises and resilience processes in migrant families of mixed immigration status in families from central-western Mexico residing in California and Illinois.

Diana Tamara Martínez Ruiz, Alejandra Ceja Fernández, Francisco Hernández Galván — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Experiences of contemporary migration defy the fundamental assumptions of modern nations such as citizenship notions, statehood, and legality parameters. This phenomenon exposes the shortcomings of conceptual frameworks and practices to analyse the migrant populations insertion in transnational contexts, those who do not fit to the traditional logic of citizenship. This work was carried out through a qualitative study with Mexican families that live in the United States in a mixed immigratory status. The conceptual intersection between resilience strategies and active citizenship exercises in the context of the migration process was reviewed. For this purpose, some interview fragments were analyzed through a narrative approach, and migratory experiences and resilience policies were identified, highlighting the importance of migrant families on the citizenship and human rights debate. This interdisciplinary research offers a reflection of the way that migrants react to the adverse context demands through exercises of active citizenship.

Empirical insight into the construction of hope through transnational links

María José Grisel Enríquez-Cabral — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines how women from Cosalá, Sinaloa, who maintain transnational links with their husbands or children in the United States, construct hope as a key resource for sustaining these relationships despite the distance. Through in-depth interviews, the women emphasized hope as an essential element in coping with the separation from their relatives. The study focuses on two main objectives: 1) to analyze under what conditions hope can be considered a resource for managing distance in transnational relationships, and 2) to identify the constituent elements of the hope of the interviewed women. The findings suggest that transnational links function as a "transnational psychosocial space," characterized by strain, violence, and helplessness. Those involved in these relationships often experience learned hopelessness or interpret their optimism as hope, which keeps them trapped in unequal relationships. In this context, hope is conceived as a relational process built through intersubjectivity between individuals. Despite physical distance, hope remains possible, as the women manage to maintain an emotional and affective connection with their relatives abroad. This phenomenon demonstrates that, while transnational links can generate difficulties, hope is a fundamental factor in their maintenance.

Enclaves of Privilege: Retirement Migration and Urban Transformation in Mazatlán

Pascual Gerardo Garcia, Rodolfo García-Zamora — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article analyzes the international migration of North American retirees to Mazatlán, Mexico, using the theoretical frameworks of Appadurai's scapes, Augé's non-places, and Foucault's heterotopias. Through ethnographic interviews and critical urban analysis, the study reveals how global flows of people, capital, and imaginaries reshape urban and cultural landscapes, producing hybrid spaces of both integration and exclusion. The paper explores the ambivalences of lifestyle migration, highlighting tensions between cosmopolitan comfort and local identity, and advocates for intercultural policies that foster symbolic belonging and inclusive aging.

Collective Remittances in Transnational Relations and Local Development, Under A New Co-Investment Program with the Mexican Government 2024-2030

Karina Raquel Zúñiga Delgado, Rodolfo García Zamora — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Collective remittances, sent by organized migrants to their communities of origin, are key to transnational relations and local development in countries like Mexico. This study analyzes the potential impact of a new co-investment program between the Mexican government and migrant communities (2024-2030), highlighting how these remittances promote not only financial flows but also social participation and the strengthening of transnational communities. Success stories are highlighted where remittances have financed infrastructure, education, and health projects, improving local quality of life. Furthermore, a co-investment approach is proposed that includes the use of Fintech to facilitate remittance transfers, microfinance, and collaboration between the government and transnational civil society. Considering challenges such as transparency and financial inclusion, it concludes that collective remittances have great potential to drive sustainable local development and the strengthening of transnational communities.

Ecuatorian migration in a polycrisis context

Jessica Ordoñez — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ecuador is facing a new international migration flow, driven both by the social, economic, environmental and institutional poly-crises, as well as their consequences. The country has faced three significant migratory flows, each with profound economic and social implications at level. The current migration intensified after the crisis caused by the COVID19 pandemic, which led to the massive closure of businesses, job losses, increased poverty and inequality. This situation particularly affects the poorest people who, in search of better conditions, choose to return to migratory routes to the United States, despite the risks associated with informal routes. The growing insecurity and violence act as a new factor for migratory expulsion, in addition to the lack of opportunities and the need to improve living conditions. Unlike previous migrations,, the current exodus is family-based and irregular.

Diplomacy and Migration in Relations between Mexico and the Andean Community of Nations (2014-2024)

Danilo Rodríguez Arango — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Migration in the Andean region has significantly increased over the past two decades, with diversified flows and new routes. This phenomenon has politicized national and international agendas. Migration studies are divided between the relationship with public policies and the discourses between migrants and States. The United States remains a key destination, influencing diplomatic relations with Mexico and the Southern Cone. Diplomacy plays a crucial role in migration management, highlighting four approaches: national security, human rights, development in countries of origin, and ties with migrants. Migration has been shaped by economic, political, and social factors, requiring inclusive policies and international cooperation to ensure migrants' human rights.

Editorial Note

Pascual G. Macias — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In recent years, the international migration landscape has become increasingly complex and critical. By the end of 2024, it was estimated that more than 120 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced due to conflict, persecution, violence, or human rights violations. Latin America is not immune to this crisis: the prolonged socioeconomic collapse in Venezuela has pushed nearly 8 million people to leave the country, marking one of the largest exoduses in the region’s history. Central America, meanwhile, has faced massive flows of migrants in transit to North America for years, including the collective movements known as migrant caravans that began in 2018. These caravans and other forms of forced migration have persisted even during the COVID-19 pandemic, defying border closures and revealing the relentless desperation—and hope—of those fleeing poverty, violence, and lack of opportunities.

Neofascism and the far right in Brazil de Odilon Caldeira Neto

Fabián Bustamante Olguín — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Este libro examina el fenómeno del neofascismo en Brasil como un proceso “tardío” pero políticamente significativo dentro de la constelación de derechas radicales del país. La obra se divide en tres: la primera trata la “primera ola” neofascista (1980-2000), centrada en el neo-integralismo, el negacionismo del Holocausto y el neonazismo; la segunda se enfoca en la “segunda ola” (2000-2020), caracterizada por la internacionalización y la incorporación de estrategias metapolíticas e identitarias; y la tercera, dedicada a los diálogos y vínculos entre el neofascismo y la extrema derecha brasileña, con especial atención al rol del bolsonarismo como catalizador de redes, discursos y actores radicales (p.4).

Making the Journey: Transit Migration in Latin America

Diego Ochoa Jiménez — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Making the Journey is a fundamental work that addresses the migratory phenomenon as a multidimensional issue that transcends traditional approaches. From the perspective of an economist, the book is especially valuable in showing how transit migration responds not only to humanitarian or cultural factors but also to structural dynamics related to unequal development, labor precarization, labor market segmentation, and failures in global economic governance.

Each chapter stems from the same core problem: the situation of migrants in transit in Latin America, and develops it from different perspectives, revealing the need to integrate economic analysis with political, social, and legal dimensions. Key issues are addressed, such as transnational care networks, migration and trade policies, the economic impact of borders, and mobility as a strategy for both material and symbolic reproduction.

Taken as a whole, the book offers a compendium of research that challenges established categories and expands the analytical framework for understanding migration as a phenomenon deeply tied to the logics of capital, accumulation by dispossession, and structural inequality. From this perspective, Making the Journey not only provides interpretative insights but also poses crucial methodological and theoretical challenges for rethinking the role of political economy in the study of contemporary migration.