Disciplining Mobility: care, mistrust and migration management in Mexico

Humanitarian organisations and migrant shelters have been the main advocates against the criminalisation of migrants by state authorities in Mexico. Some of these organisations have sought to support migrants trying to reach the US-Mexico border, yet within their day-to-day activities, they also cooperate with governmental institutions which suggests more complex functions. This paper explores the tension between care and control within humanitarian infrastructures to understand the underlying social and historical structures that govern global migration. This paper argues that NGOs engage in practices of screening, doubting and policing of migrants from the Global South that do not align with their intention to safeguard them. I also explore instances of punishment, time constriction and paternalism used to discipline racialised migrants. I examine colonial logic that persist in these places, the racialisation and subordination of Central American migrants, the influence of the UNHCR, that ultimately lead to the dehumanisation of individuals.

Speaker's Bio

Erika Herrera Rosales is a Teaching Fellow at the department of Sociology at the University of Warwick. She was awarded with an Early Career Fellowship from the Institute of Advanced Studies and is currently an Associate Fellow. Her postgraduate research explored the role of NGOs and Central American migrants in Mexico. Her forthcoming book, “Ambivalent Humanitarianism: Colonial legacies, migration control and the experiences of migrants in Mexico” (Routledge) focuses on global migration, bordering practices and deterrence practices of humanitarian workers from a decolonial perspective.