Managing Migration Through Foreign Aid in Mexico and Central America: The Role of U.S. Conditionality on Mexico’s Migration Policies

2025/01/02 by ANA M. ALVAREZ GIL · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #International Development and Aid #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Migration, Racism, and Human Rights

paper · doi:10.1080/15562948.2024.2385983

openalex publication_date 2025/01/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14

Abstract

This paper examines the U.S. strategy of outsourcing migration control to Mexico and Central America through foreign aid since the 1980s. First, it traces the historical evolution of such aid, from technical assistance linked to countering narcotics and communism—with the secondary objective of deterring migration—to the more recent development aid approach that explicitly attempts to address the “root causes” of migration. The second part of the paper highlights how U.S. conditionality—providing incentives to third countries for migration cooperation or punishment for the lack thereof—linked to foreign aid has contributed to a more securitized approach to migration control in Mexico.

Citations

• Turning the Tide? Why Development Will Not Stop Migration
• The European Union's migration management aid: Developing democracies or supporting authoritarianism?

Discussions

• Last but not least, Ana Martin Gil @stpolicy.bsky.social employs historical analysis to examine the U.S. strategy of outsourcing migration control to Mexico and Central America through foreign aid sin [bsky, 2 points, 1 comments]

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