Who “belongs” in Latin America’s Migrant Rights Revolution?

Since the turn of the century, a substantial number of Latin American countries changed their immigration and asylum laws to adopt an unprecedented focus on migrant rights and free human mobility. South American states, in particular, have emphasized that there is a pressing need to adopt measures within the region which honor international commitments regarding migrants’ rights, in order to ensure the principles of coherence and non-discrimination. The right to migrate that is now enshrined in Argentine, Bolivian, Ecuadorian and Uruguayan migration laws and in various regional declarations – although lacking a clear definition - symbolizes this new approach to migration management. Many of the new legislations are remarkably progressive regarding gender and sexual rights: some forbid the discrimination based on sexual orientation, while others stipulate special awareness regarding gender (next to other social contexts such as ethnicity). The paper explores how the interaction of emerging progressive norms on immigration and non-discrimination regarding gender, sexuality and ethnicity effect immigration and asylum legislation in the region. The findings suggest that the Latin American migrant rights revolution is rooted in political strategizing by left-of-center governments, rather than in social change and favorable public opinion, which explains recent backlashes under right-of-center governments.