Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

The arrival of Central American migrant caravans to Mexico beginning in October 2018 has given rise to a wide range of reactions in the country – from sympathy and solidarity to hostility and calls for deportation. These expressions have reached a new pitch in Tijuana, Baja California, on the border with the United States, where a large percentage of the migrants have landed in hope of petitioning for asylum in the United States. A neighborhood group, for example, called the migrants a risk to their community. Human rights groups have cautioned against rising xenophobia. As such, reactions in Tijuana (and in Mexico) seem to reflect responses to the undocumented on the United States side of the international border. Focusing on Tijuana, this paper examines reactions to the migrant caravans through discourses and actions of both civil society and government. It argues that while there is much that mirrors what is happening in the United States, especially in the era of Trump, there are also differences. Thus, the paper cautions against viewing the Mexican reaction through a US or, more generally, a first world lens, and examines some of the particular contextual issues – both historical and contemporary – shaping reactions to Central American migrants in the border city.