Externalizing Borders and Blocking Asylum Seekers in Northern Mexico

Abstract

This article analyzes the intersection between asylum policy and migration controls at the U.S.-Mexico border, in the context of borders’ externalization and blocking of asylum seekers in northern Mexico. It shows how the asylum system is now embedded in border regimes that depend on U.S. and Mexican strategic interests both internationally and domestically. It responds to the following questions: How are U.S. asylum policies involved in the processes of borderization in northern Mexico? How do these policies relate to the processes of hindering or permitting cross-border mobility of asylum seekers?.