Humanitarianism and Colonial Echoes in Mexico

Erika Herrera Rosales is a Teaching Fellow at the University of Warwick. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the same university and teaches on topics of gender, violence and racism. She is interested in topics of global migration, critical methodologies and family separation. You can find her on Twitter @erika_herros. This is the sixth post in the Border Criminologies 'Southern Perspectives on Border Criminology' themed series curated by Rimple Metha and Ana Aliverti. You can find Samuels's corresponding article in the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy here: The Implications of Migration Governance and Colonial Structures in Humanitarian Organisations in Mexico. 

Humanitarian organisations, along with governments and international agencies, have become key actors in global migration that seek to manage people’s mobilities. This is especially true in a country such as Mexico where humanitarian organisations and shelters have been commonly seen as allies to migrants. There are more than 100 humanitarian hubs which are also known as “casas del migrante” (which translates to “migrant houses”) – an umbrella term for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that aid migrant population. These organisations provide people with basic support and services such as shelter, food, and clothing, as well as psychological, medical and legal attention, amongst others.

In my article, entitled “The Implications of Migration Governance and Colonial Structures in Humanitarian Organisations in Mexico”, I explore some of the activities of NGOs and shelters that have also entailed contradictory practices that are detrimental to individuals. It has been estimated in the past few years that almost 400,000 people from North Central America crossed into Mexico trying to reach the United States. I carried out empirical research which consisted of semi-structured interviews with frontline workers and migrants in multiple locations –including Tijuana in the US-Mexico border, Mexico City and Tapachula near the border with Guatemala.

 It is important to address some of the ambiguities of humanitarians, by shedding light on how colonial legacies and echoes that continue to operate through non-state actors as a way of controlling and punishing individuals. I decided to focus not only on the narrative of NGO staff workers but also on those of Northern Central American migrants, that is, people travelling from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. I draw attention to two specific instances in which NGOs sought to aid people, which in turn resulted in adverse consequences for migrants, showcasing organisations’ protective missions and paternalistic relationships.

 The first humanitarian ambivalence is evident in the organisations’ aims to protect migrants, ensure violent-free environments and foster safe spaces. This is an attempt to keep out the so-called troublemakers – the migrant smugglers, gang members and drug dealers. In this process, I found that organisations are deliberately screening, patrolling and suspecting migrants of being criminals. For example, whereas migrants would recall being closely examined by NGOs, having to provide credible stories about their travels and being subject to security protocols, staff workers would be hypervigilant of any infiltrator in their midst. I not only highlight these practices that actively patrol people performed by non-state actors but also show how they are underpinned by a colonial logic, in which racialised individuals are constantly being mistrusted. By this, I mean that a particular scepticism is placed on people from the Global South which stigmatises them and legitimises dubious actions on behalf of humanitarian organisations. People are routinely targeted as suspects through racial hierarchies of “colonial doubt” as a legacy of colonialism, which ends up dehumanising them. In this case, the colonial doubt is directed towards Northern Central American migrants, who are perceived as inherently violent people and seen as threatening to the mestizo project in Mexico.

A second way humanitarian organisations are reinforcing colonial structures is by enacting paternalistic attitudes. Humanitarian workers want migrants to feel at home; they want to be a true embodiment of a real house. However, in the effort to operate the shelters, staff members treat migrants as children by taking on a self-appointed role as their primary caretakers. Through NGOs’ activities of assigning chores, implementing a rigorous schedule, and at times, prohibiting the use of mobile phones, migrants’ subordination is reinforced through strict rules. This frequently leads to migrants being infantilised, which reduces their autonomy and agency while at the same time deeming them as immature people and incapable of governing themselves. It is interesting to note that the same colonial logic is being implemented by international agencies, especially the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), that passed mandates to their local partners in the Global South on how they should operate.

As humanitarian ambivalences reveal tensions between caring and controlling, humanitarian works attempt to alleviate them through punitive practices. NGOs resort to further punishing migrants to maintain social and colonial hierarchies by further disciplining them and threatening their expulsion. Moreover, although humanitarian actors contrast their practices with those of the state, in reality, they hold close ties with governmental institutions through continuous communication and transfer of migrants under their care. However, not all humanitarian workers follow orders uncritically. In fact, some of them recognise the power asymmetries which lead to advocating for migrants in certain instances. For their part, migrants experience these humanitarian ambivalences in terms of conforming with organisations’ regulations but also, challenging staff in subtle ways. Nonetheless, migrants have to overcome attitudes of intimidation, excessive authority and, ultimately, bordering practices of humanitarian organisations.

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