Asylees, removals, returnees: Mexican border cities response and adaptation to mixed migratory flows

Mexican border cities are at the frontline of displacement of asylum seekers from the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as of Mexican migrants returning voluntarily or involuntarily from the United States. Shifts in U.S. policy toward asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants during the Trump administration changed this dynamic, creating a new scenario of mixed migratory flows and bottleneck effect in the U.S.-Mexico border and testing long-standing beliefs and practices regarding migrants. This chapter sheds light on the reaction and response to these changes by institutions and organizations - formal and informal - providing aid and managing migration at the local level. The analysis proposes that cities along the U.S.-Mexico border are showing increasing agency in responding to mixed migration, which is consistent with the traditional openness and solidarity of border communities toward migration, and with the “local turn” in migratory regimes observed globally. Examining the experience of Ambos Nogales, a cross-border community along the Arizona-Mexico border, we conclude that the response of local structures needs to be understood in-depth because of their relevance in the formulation of actions to mitigate the negative impacts of migration and exploits potential synergies between migrants and cities.