A shift to the right: changes in inmigration legislation and the impact on Senegalese migrants in Argentina, Brazil and the United States

Abstract

Immigration legislation reflects government policy on the regulation of people that the State desires (or not) to enter a determined territory. In the cases of Argentina and Brazil, both countries have modified their immigration legislation in recent decades, adopting regulations inspired in human rights and the free passage of persons. However, these sets of norms have excluded migrants coming from the continent of Africa, particularly Senegal. Recently the Necessary and Urgency Decrees (DNU) in 2017 modified the laws in both countries by executive order, further complicating migrants’ access to certain rights. In the same vein, in the United States, the Trump Administration also has sought to limit immigration through executive decrees, shifting policy toward criminalization. These new changes have profoundly impacted the Senegalese community, threatening an already precarious situation. Focusing on these recent changes in migratory legislation in both Argentina, Brazil, and the United States, this study aims to discuss the impact on the (im)possibility of regularization for the Senegalese population and the resulting difficulties of this process. This study uses both primary and secondary sources, relying on; immigration legislation and their respective modifications; interviews with immigration lawyers and officials; participative observations in discussion meetings on related topics; and in-depth interviews with Senegalese migrants in Argentina and Brazil.