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Migrating through the Corridor of Death : The Making of a Complex Humanitarian Crisis

Solano, Priscilla LU and Massey, Douglas (2022) In Journal on Migration and Human Security 10(3). p.147-172
Abstract
Drawing on the concept of a “complex humanitarian crisis,” this paper describes how outflows of migrants from Central America were transformed into such a crisis by intransigent immigration and border policies enacted in both Mexico and the United States. We describe the origins of the migration in U.S. Cold War interventions that created many thousands of displaced people fleeing violence and economic degradation in the region, leading to a sustained process of undocumented migration to the United States. Owing to rising levels of gang violence and weather events associated with climate change, the number of people seeking to escape threats in Central America has multiplied and unauthorized migration through Mexico toward the United... (More)
Drawing on the concept of a “complex humanitarian crisis,” this paper describes how outflows of migrants from Central America were transformed into such a crisis by intransigent immigration and border policies enacted in both Mexico and the United States. We describe the origins of the migration in U.S. Cold War interventions that created many thousands of displaced people fleeing violence and economic degradation in the region, leading to a sustained process of undocumented migration to the United States. Owing to rising levels of gang violence and weather events associated with climate change, the number of people seeking to escape threats in Central America has multiplied and unauthorized migration through Mexico toward the United States has increased. However, the securitization of migration in both Mexico and the United States has blocked these migrants from exercising their right to petition for asylum, creating a growing backlog of migrants who are subject to human rights violations and predations both by criminals and government authorities, leading migrants to label Mexican routes northward as a “corridor of death.” We draw on data from annual reports of Mexico's Red de Documentación de las Organizaciones Defensoras de Migrantes (Network for the Documentation of Migrant Defense Organizations) to construct a statistical profile of transit migrants and the threats they face as reported by humanitarian actors in Mexico. These reports allow us to better understand the practical realities of the “complex humanitarian crisis” facing undocumented migrants, both as unauthorized border crossers and as transit migrants moving between the southern frontiers of Mexico and the United States. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
undocumented migration, humanitarian crisis, Mexico, transit
in
Journal on Migration and Human Security
volume
10
issue
3
pages
26 pages
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85162865370
ISSN
2331-5024
DOI
10.1177/23315024221119784
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6bd874b0-5f0a-4fbf-bc91-53877b62e5f0
date added to LUP
2022-09-30 08:38:33
date last changed
2023-09-12 04:00:30
@article{6bd874b0-5f0a-4fbf-bc91-53877b62e5f0,
  abstract     = {{Drawing on the concept of a “complex humanitarian crisis,” this paper describes how outflows of migrants from Central America were transformed into such a crisis by intransigent immigration and border policies enacted in both Mexico and the United States. We describe the origins of the migration in U.S. Cold War interventions that created many thousands of displaced people fleeing violence and economic degradation in the region, leading to a sustained process of undocumented migration to the United States. Owing to rising levels of gang violence and weather events associated with climate change, the number of people seeking to escape threats in Central America has multiplied and unauthorized migration through Mexico toward the United States has increased. However, the securitization of migration in both Mexico and the United States has blocked these migrants from exercising their right to petition for asylum, creating a growing backlog of migrants who are subject to human rights violations and predations both by criminals and government authorities, leading migrants to label Mexican routes northward as a “corridor of death.” We draw on data from annual reports of Mexico's Red de Documentación de las Organizaciones Defensoras de Migrantes (Network for the Documentation of Migrant Defense Organizations) to construct a statistical profile of transit migrants and the threats they face as reported by humanitarian actors in Mexico. These reports allow us to better understand the practical realities of the “complex humanitarian crisis” facing undocumented migrants, both as unauthorized border crossers and as transit migrants moving between the southern frontiers of Mexico and the United States.}},
  author       = {{Solano, Priscilla and Massey, Douglas}},
  issn         = {{2331-5024}},
  keywords     = {{undocumented migration, humanitarian crisis, Mexico, transit}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{147--172}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Journal on Migration and Human Security}},
  title        = {{Migrating through the Corridor of Death : The Making of a Complex Humanitarian Crisis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23315024221119784}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/23315024221119784}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}