Over the past decade, a paradigm shift in migration and asylum law and policymaking appears to have taken place in Latin America. Does this apparent ""liberal tide"" of new laws and policies suggest a new approach to the hot topics of migration and refugees in Latin America distinct from the regressive and restrictive attitudes on display in other parts of the world? The question is urgent not only for our understanding of contemporary Latin America but also as a means of reorienting the debate in the migration studies field toward the important developments currently taking place in the region and in other parts of the global south. This book brings together eight varied and vibrant new analyses by scholars from Latin America and beyond to form the first collection that describes and critically examines the new liberalism in Latin American law and policy on migration and refugees.

Latin America provides a compelling case for the study of migration policies and laws, with several factors - including both internal and interregional migration and refugee flows, the region's progressive approach to the management of human mobility, and several forced displacement crises of the contemporary era - offering unique insights. Despite the region's heterogeneous migration flows and unique immigration and refugee laws, the academic literature has thus far lacked in-depth explorations of migration policy in Latin America. Voluntary and Forced Migration in Latin America presents a comparative analysis of the migration legislation of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. For each country, the collection provides a historical overview of the evolution of migration legislation, an analysis of the migration flows and types of migrant profiles, and an examination of the country's current immigration, asylum, and nationality legislation. The primary regional and international mechanisms that facilitate a normative approach to voluntary and forced migration, as well as to migrant and refugee rights, are also thoroughly interrogated. Situating itself in the often progressive immigration policies of Latin America, Voluntary and Forced Migration in Latin America offers alternative solutions for other countries facing migration challenges in different contexts.