Migrant Legalization and Rights: Ideas and Strategies from South America
This post is part of a blog series featuring our global conference on April 13, 2021, Encuentro: Defending Migrant Rights Across the Americas
April 6, 2021
A hemispheric lens on the Americas reveals two contrasting approaches to immigration in the last 20 years. The United States has used punitive immigration policies and collaborated with Mexico to deter immigrants and Central American asylum seekers from entering its southern border. In sharp contrast, South American governments have created migration policies that expand migrants access to legal residency and rights. These include the Mercosur Residency Agreement and Argentina s 2003 immigration law. These migration policies impact the lives of 11 million international migrants within South America in 2020.