Inability to Protect: Mexican State Capacity and Expert Witnessing in United States Asylum Claims

This article focuses on how the Mexican state remains unable to protect certain categories of people based on particular identity characteristics. I draw on examples of gang-related corruption within the police and the judiciary, as well as the impact of cultures of violence and impunity on vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and girls. I also explain some of what expert witnesses can contribute to United States immigration courts. Based on my longitudinal scholarly research on violence in Mexico, combined with experience as an expert witness in U.S. asylum cases for claimants from Mexico, I argue that Mexico’s inability to protect women and girls coexists with its democratic status and has direct implications on forced migration from Mexico to the United States. In addition, I exposit that expert witnesses play a significant role in illuminating gaps between legal protections and their application in practice.