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.

In Latin America, recent years have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of people forced to flee from their homes due to the activities of organised criminal groups. What are the reasons behind this emerging crisis of forced displacement in the Americas? Who are these criminal groups and how do they operate in Central America, Mexico and Colombia? Who are the victims and how can their needs be met in these violent and insecure contexts? Can law and policy offer a humanitarian response to this crisis? As the first book to deal with this rapidly evolving phenomenon, this innovative collection offers a range of fresh perspectives from leading experts working across Latin America.