Out of the Frying Pan... From Messy Migration Governance to the Production of Statelessness in Mexico

Abstract

From an anthropological perspective, this working paper explores the process through which, in recent years, a significant number of extra-continental migrants in Mexico have received stateless status, as well as the practical consequences of this status in their lives. Based in a policy of ambivalence within a messy global migration governance context, the Mexican government has been creating ad-hoc solutions, such as the issuance of stateless cards, whose implications - largely uncertain - may be counterproductive in the long term. Based on the results obtained from an ethnographic study with African migrants in transit through Mexico carried out between 2021 and 2022, this study highlights the practical implications of being considered stateless, as well as the uncertain consequences on the future migratory trajectories of these people. In doing so, it complements previous research, mostly of a legal and/or quantitative nature.