Protecting Immigrant Rights in Mexico: Understanding the State-Civil Society Nexus

The state-civil society relationship to migration policy is an area both largely unexplored and little understood in current scholarly literature. This book offers a timely analysis of the changing role played by civil society in the formulation and implementation of government policies in general and migration policy in particular. The author uses Mexico as her primary case study because of the recent impact of immigrants on its legislation and the historical evolution of its institutions. The extensive interviews with Mexican civil society actors and government officials that Gonzalez-Murphy has conducted during the last few years enable her thorough understanding of the state-civil society relationship in Mexico. After outlining her conceptual framework, she details the ways that civil society has become a participant in immigration policy changes, including Mexico's new migration law. Mexico's experience is also closely compared with countries presently experiencing similar immigration and political dynamics, such as Spain and Italy, and with Latin American countries that have had a similar historical experience with immigration. The book closes with an examination of what the Mexican experience contributes to our understanding of the actors, processes, issues, and obstacles involved in migration policy development. This book will offer scholars as well as policy makers and civil society actors a greater understanding of the domestic and international political issues and constraints that shape immigration policy making and its implementation.