Becoming a De Facto Destination: Humanitarian Visas and the Globalization of Migration Through Mexico

This thesis examines the transformation of Mexico’s migration governance system between 2014 and 2024, arguing that Mexico has increasingly become a de facto destination country rather than solely a transit corridor. Drawing on an original dataset of Tarjetas de Visitante por Razones Humanitarias (TVRH) issued by Mexican migration authorities, the study employs a mixed-methods approach combining longitudinal quantitative analysis with process tracing of legal and policy developments following Mexico’s 2011 Ley de Migracion. The findings demonstrate a marked diversification of humanitarian visa recipients, extending beyond Central American nationals to include growing numbers of migrants from the Caribbean, South America, and extra-hemispheric regions. The thesis argues that the TVRH functions as a central mechanism of migration governance, producing conditions of prolonged temporariness in which migrants remain legally present in Mexico while navigating constrained asylum systems and limited pathways to onward mobility. These dynamics are spatially concentrated in key municipalities such as Tapachula and northern border cities, where administrative processing and enforcement practices structure prolonged settlement. The findings demonstrate how humanitarian documentation mediates legal visibility and containment, repositioning Mexico as a central node within increasingly globalized and externalized migration governance systems across the Americas.