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The tension between human migrations and the border regimes that selectively impede or propel these mobilities is one the most epic and increasingly complex conflicts of our time, placing at the centre of the debate the question of whether migration governance is attainable or if we should better focus on understanding the ungovernable character of migrations. The ongoing dynamics across the Americas are an analytical laboratory in this regard.

The enduring post-pandemic triple crisis–economic, sanitary and of the state’s social protection system–has pressed Latin American, Caribbean, African and Asian migrants residing in first South American countries of reception to multiply their irregularized transits to the US or divert them to Southern Cone destinations. By the end of October 2021, for instance, a total of 1.7 million migrants coming from more than 160 different countries were detained at the US-Mexican …