The immigration agenda from Mexico towards Central America: changes and continuities 2010 -2020

Abstract

In 2011, the Mexican government enacted the National Migration Law, which was the country’s first specific legislation on immigration. Since then, the government has faced significant challenges, particularly in 2014 and 2018, which shifted its immigration policies from a human rights focus to an emphasis on militarization and security. This thesis seeks to understand this evolution and poses two key questions: why did the government prioritize immigration issues, and how did this prioritization shape specific policy decisions? To analyse this, the research employs the Multiple Stream Framework developed by Kingdon (1986) to examine the interplay of problem, politics, and policy streams. This framework is further enhanced by the Advocacy Coalitions Framework (Sabatier, 1987) to explore how various actors vied for influence and employed strategies to persuade the government toward particular policy outcomes. The primary theoretical contribution of this thesis is to test the original Kingdon model within the context of a developing country like Mexico, highlighting its limitations in explaining policy outcomes in such settings. The analysis reveals that changes in migration policies in Mexico were driven by the engagement of three distinct groups within the streams: Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the United States government, and International Organizations. The findings of this thesis have broader implications for other countries with similar characteristics to Mexico, such as emerging democracies with active civil societies, involvement in international organizations, and external influences on their political landscapes.