Table Of ContentMobility & Politics
Series Editors
Martin Geiger
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Parvati Raghuram
Open University
Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
William Walters
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Mobility& Politics
Series Editors: Martin Geiger, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada;
Parvati Raghuram, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK; William
Walters, CarletonUniversity,Ottawa, Canada
GlobalAdvisoryBoard:MichaelCollyer,UniversityofSussex;SusanB.
Coutin, University of California; Raúl Delgado Wise, Universidad
Autónoma de Zacatecas; Nicholas De Genova, King’s College London;
Eleonore Kofman, Middlesex University; Rey Koslowski, University at
Albany; Loren B. Landau, University of the Witwatersrand; Sandro
Mezzadra, Università di Bologna; Alison Mountz, Wilfrid Laurier
University; Brett Neilson, University of Western Sydney; Antoine
Pécoud, Université Paris 13; Ranabir Samaddar, Mahanirban Research
Group Calcutta; Nandita Sharma, University of Hawai’i at Manoa;
Tesfaye Tafesse, Addis Ababa University; Thanh-Dam Truong, Erasmus
University Rotterdam.
Human mobility, whatever its scale, is often controversial. Hence it
carrieswithitthepotentialforpolitics.Acorefeatureofmobilitypolitics
is the tension between the desire to maximise the social and economic
benefits of migration and pressures to restrict movement. Transnational
communities, global instability, advances in transportation and commu-
nication, and concepts of ‘smart borders’ and ‘migration management’
arejustafewofthephenomenatransformingthelandscapeofmigration
today. The tension between openness and restriction raises important
questions about how different types of policy and politics come to life
and influence mobility.
Mobility & Politics invitesoriginal, theoreticallyand empirically informed
studies for academic and policy-oriented debates. Authors examine issues
suchasrefugeesanddisplacement,migrationandcitizenship,securityand
cross-border movements, (post-)colonialism and mobility, and transna-
tional movementsand cosmopolitics.
More information aboutthisseries at
http://www.springer.com/series/14800
CarlosSandoval-García
Exclusion
and Forced
Migration in Central
America
No More Walls
CarlosSandoval-García
InstituteforSocialResearch
UniversityofCostaRica
SanJose,CostaRica
TranslatedbyKariMeyers
Mobility&Politics
ISBN978-3-319-51922-7 ISBN978-3-319-51923-4(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-51923-4
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017930969
©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s)2017
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsof
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology
nowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthis
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesare
exemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformation
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the
publishernortheauthorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespectto
thematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutionalaffiliations.
Coverillustration:Modernbuildingwindow©saulgranda/Getty
Printedonacid-freepaper
ThisPalgraveMacmillanimprintispublishedbySpringerNature
TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
’
S E F
ERIES DITORS OREWORD
ThepastdecadeshaveseenasignificantriseinmigrationfromCentraland
LatinAmericatopopularmigrationdestinationssuchastheUnitedStates
and Canada. The nature of this migration stems not from desire, but
necessity.Thedeepeningofneo-liberalpoliciesinparticularregionsneces-
sitates workers migrate in an attempt to maintain their livelihoods. As a
means to counter this form of forced migration, wealthier destination
countries impose increasingly restrictive migration policies. This is partly
in response to global market conditions, but more consistently it is the
result of a growing politicization of migration and the exclusion of
migrants. Racism,nationalismanddynamicsofcontrolmarksomeethni-
citiesas‘undesirable’.Withtheuseofhumanrightsvocabularies,statescan
legitimizepolicieslimitingthefreedomofmovementanddenyinghuman
andotherbasicrightstomigrantsonthebasisofalackofcitizenship.
ExclusionandForcedMigrationinCentralAmericaidentifiesmigration
from Central America as a consequence of neo-liberal policies whereby
millionsareforcedtoleavetosurvive.Itdemonstrateshowthisprocessforces
migrantsintoirregularity,jeopardizingtheirsafetyandhumanrights.This
newest addition to the Mobility & Politics series highlights the research of
CarlosSandoval-Garcíainpresentingacompellingargumentagainstrestric-
tiveanddiscriminatorymigrationpolicies.Theauthor’sworkistrulyinter-
disciplinaryandcontributestoanemergingfieldofresearchthat considers
migration and development as intersecting and intrinsically linked fields.
Sandoval-Garcíaisexemplaryforinvolvingemergingscholarsinhisresearch.
His work informs readers about the realities of economic migration from
Central America through an examination of the process of migration.
v
vi SERIESEDITORS’FOREWORD
Thebookfirstlyassessesthenationalandglobalcausesandconditionsthat
havepropagatedmassmigration.Secondly,itanalysesthismigrationprocess
asanindustry ofextortion. Thirdly, itidentifies the contrived roleofnon-
governmentalorganizationsincompensatingforstatefailuresinthishuma-
nitarianchallenge.Sandoval-Garcíashowsthisprocessextendsfarbeyonda
regionalproblem,butratherisaperpetuatedsystemicinjustice.
Astimegoeson,thisissueonlybecomesmoreprevalentandpressing,its
implications profoundly impacting the lives of millions. Sandoval-García
offers a series of considerations concerning the need to transcend a global
orderthatpermitstheextortionandexploitationofmigrantworkersintheir
mobilityprocess.TheinsightshisworkcontributestotheMobility&Politics
series are invaluable to the examination of migration politics in Central
America. Exclusion and Forced Migration in Central America makes the
connection between systemic conditions and exclusion to address major
injusticesperpetratedthroughtheglobalcapitalisteconomicorder.
Delivering a comprehensive understanding of the systematically rooted
nature of labour migration, Exclusion and Forced Migration in Central
America, poses the daunting, but important question regarding the arbi-
trariness of borders. This particularly questions the prioritization of what
Liisa Malkki calls the ‘national order of things’1 and national security over
the valueand safeguarding ofhumanlives and humanrights. Ithighlights
thelegitimizationofanignoranceofkeyvaluesheldhighinWesternregard
for their own citizens, and as an imposed global standard. Exclusion and
ForcedMigrationinCentralAmericaprovidesinsightsforfutureconversa-
tionsbetweenscholars,policy-makers,andotherstakeholdersintheircon-
siderationofhownationswilladdressthedirectandindirectsystemiccauses
andconsequencesofforcedmigrationforeconomicnecessity.
The Series Editors
Martin Geiger, CarletonUniversity
ParvatiRaghuram,OpenUniversity
WilliamWalters,CarletonUniversity
and
ErinNewman-Grigg,Mobility&PoliticsResearchCollective
www.mobpoli.info//www.mobilitypoliticsseries.com
1Malkki,L.“NationalHeographic:TheRootingofPeoplesandtheTerritorialization
of National Identity among Scholars and Refugees”. Cultural Anthropology, 7,
1(1992):24–44.
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Exclusion and Forced Migration in Central America: No More Walls
evolved from the project ‘Anti-Immigration Discourses and Institutional
Practices and Normative Perspectives in Central America’, which took
place from 2011 to 2013 at the Institute of Social Research of the
University of Costa Rica (Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la
Universidad de Costa Rica). I would like to express my gratitude to my
colleaguesattheProgramofCultures,InstitutionsandSubjectivitieswho
readandgavefeedbackontheresearchadvancesthatnowformpartofthis
book. The two people who reviewed the Spanish manuscript made very
valuable observationsforwhich Iam also grateful.
Throughout the project I had the privilege of working with a very
talented group of psychology students whom I would like to thank for
their work and their friendship: Santiago Navarro, María José Masís,
Eduardo Bolaños, Ada Soto, Melisa Chan and Valeria Sancho. To all of
them a huge thank-you for facilitating multiple tasks associated with this
project and also for sharing their research skills and questions, some of
which arenow crystalizedin graduatetheses.
During these three years, a long list of colleagues have invited me to
presentresearchadvancesandhavefacilitatedinterviews,housing,biblio-
graphy,newsreleasesfromorganizationsandcontactswithorganizations
and individuals. At the risk of omitting someone, I would like to thank
Andrés León Araya, Artemio Velasco, Daniel Villafuerte Solís, Francisco
Iznardo SJ, Gabriela Martínez Castillo, Sister Dolores Palencia, Sister
Gloria Morúa, Iván Merino SJ, José Julián Llaguno Thomas, Karina
Fonseca Vindas, Koen Voorend, Laura Paniagua Arguedas, Luis Mario
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Martínez, Luz María López Meza, Marcelino López Balán, María
Alejandrina Gómez Vásquez, María del Carmen García, Martha Rojas
Wiesner, Mónica Brenes Montoya, Olivia Mena, Father Pedro Pantoja,
Ricardo Machuca SJ, Rubén Figueroa, Sean Carroll SJ, Sergio Salazar
Araya, Friar Tomás González Castillo and Yolanda González Cerdeira. I
would also like to thank Marta Rojas Wiesner, who twice invited me to
participate in sessions of the Permanent Seminar on International
Migration (Seminario Permanente sobre Migración Internacional), orga-
nized by the Colegio de la Frontera Sur, both in Tapachula and in San
Cristóbal de Las Casas. Likewise, I appreciate the invitation proffered by
LuisMarioMartíneztoparticipateinaseminaronthemediaandviolence
at the Universidad Rafael Landívar. Both activities facilitated my knowl-
edge of migratory dynamics in Guatemala and Mexico. A task commis-
sioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
provided additional resources for financing field trips. No More Walls,
the title of this book, refers to a phrase employed to question the arbi-
trariness of borders which I found painted on the border wall between
Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, which renders homage to the
many people who work day after day in the construction of hospitality
andsolidarity.
Some of the lessons from this project were employed in the digital
animation project ‘Christmas Is Hospitality’ (http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=AI6Ubmy5OcY&index=2&list=PLQq7FNTefbM3mwLbygIg_
j57VOb6s7_mL), which is made up of four short stories. I would like to
thank the work crew for having crystalized this unique experience. The
enthusiasmandcommitmentofOlmanBolañosVargasandKarinaFonseca
Vindas (again!) will be very difficult to forget. This book also informed a
documentarywhosetitleis‘HomeinaForeignLand’,producedbyajoint
initiative promoted by the National University of Distance Education
(UNED) and the University of Costa Rica. It was a great opportunity to
belong to the production team with Ivannia Villalobos-Vindas, Michelle
Ferris-Artavia,SantiagoMartínez-ArtaviaandDavidRamírez.
Karina Fonseca has been an ideal companion throughout this project;
during our five o’clock coffee sessions we have gone over many of the
pages that follow. While I was on field trips, Ignacio and Lucía, our
children,askedmemanytimes,‘Whenareyoucoming?’Iamverythank-
fultothemforthat!Thefinaleditionofthismanuscriptcameatthesame
timeasthebirthofAlejandro,ournewsonwho,likehisolderbrother,was
born prematurely andnowis healthy.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
WhilethismanuscriptwastranslatedfromSpanishtoEnglish,building
a‘wall’alongtheborderbetweenMéxicoandtheUnitedStatesbecamea
frequent topic in the US electoral campaign. I do hope this book might
contributetowardstheunderstandingofwhyimmigrationhasbecomea
key raw material for far-right politics. Translating this book is informed
by the hope that social sciences produced in the Central American
isthmus has to be red by wider audiences as a way adding more voices
to the intercultural dialogue, beyond provincial outlooks. I must thank
Des Gasper and Truong, Thanh-Dam, who suggested me to approach
PalgravePivot.KariMeyersmadeacarefulworkoftranslatingthemanu-
script. Thanks are also due to Palgrave’s Mobility and Politics editors,
Martin Geiger, Parvati Raghuram and William Walters, for their interest
inthisprojectaswellastothereviewersfortheircomments.AncaPusca,
editor at Palgrave Pivot, deserves a special thanks for her patience with
this project.
Thisbook,bothinitsSpanishandEnglisheditions,isdedicatedtothe
thousands of people who want to leave but do not have the resources to
doso.To thosethousands whoapproachtheborderbetween Guatemala
and Mexico. To all those who travel on the train or await in parks or
shelters for ‘The Beast’ (La Bestia) to depart again. To all those who
decide to return before crossing. To all those who cross over and are
deported. To all those who make a life there, on ‘the other side’. To all
thosewhodiedatsomepointoftheroute.Toallthosewhodemandofus
socialscienceswhicharemorecriticalandcreative,morepropositionaland
prospective.
