Linguistic Landscapes and the Externalization of Migration in Three Bus Stations in Mexico

ABSTRACT This article examines the linguistic landscapes of three bus stations in Mexico where there have been attempts to stop migration flows from reaching the US border. The linguistic landscapes exhibit an institutional identity check policy, which requires travellers to show an identity document such as a passport when buying a ticket. Analysing the linguistic landscapes through a geosemiotics approach, on the one hand, sheds light on how an identity check policy contributes to the reconfiguration of bus stations into assemblages of surveillance, signs and institutions that function together to regulate and constrain human behaviour and mobility. On the other hand, examining language in place indexes the US–Mexico cooperation in the management of migration. This study foregrounds the externalization of migration that involves passport and visa checks by transport companies.