New Challenges for Migration Policies in Mexico between Emigration, Immigration, Transit and Return – An Appraisal from the Research in Mexico and Germany

Mexico is facing new challenges in migration governance as the flow of migrants become increasingly diverse and numerous. Around the world, including Germany, countries are exploring the best ways to manage migration. Traditional labels of countries as exclusively sending or receiving are becoming less and less accurate. In order to develop effective policies, we first need to re-conceptualize how we think about migration. This workshop proposes a paradigm shift where we start to notice and articulate the links between the various strands of human mobility that are shaping the society today. From emigrants to returnees and immigrants to transit migrants, each group’s context will be explored in depth, with specific focus on the situation of vulnerable groups such as women, youth, and minors.

In a crucial moment of government transitions at different levels in Mexico, the goal of this workshop is to bring together diverse groups of professionals working on migration topics for a clash of worlds that are traditionally in silos. We want returnee activists to talk to refugee aid workers on shared challenges in the civil society space. We want policymakers to talk to academics about the latest research on remittances and consultative bodies. The first thing is to bring everyone into the same room, and then the real puzzle is to get people to see themselves as belonging to a broader field of migration work that can benefit from harmonization and cross-collaboration. Our goal is that the various stakeholders will learn from each other and that we can start to forge collaborative networks and perspectives that will magnify the collective expertise to ultimately better ensure migrant well-being.