Date of Graduation

Spring 5-21-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS)

College/School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

International Studies

First Advisor

Bill Hing

Second Advisor

John Zarobell

Abstract

In recent years, Latin America has emerged as a central transit region for extracontinental migrants originating from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East who seek to reach North America through alternative routes. This thesis examines the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, among other regional migration governance frameworks that have reshaped migratory flows, state responsibilities, and protection outcomes in the Western Hemisphere. Focusing on the Darién Gap as a strategic chokepoint, the study analyzes the effects of coordinated migration policies, border externalization, and differentiated state roles on extracontinental mobility.

Drawing on official migration statistics from Panama, the United States, and regional governments, as well as refugee recognition data from UNHCR, the thesis combines quantitative trend analysis with qualitative policy analysis. The findings demonstrate that while coordinated enforcement measures under the Declaration contributed to a dramatic decline in recorded crossings through the Darién Gap, they did not reduce overall migration pressures. Instead, migration was spatially and temporally reconfigured through route diversion, delayed movement, and prolonged migrant immobilization in transit countries.

The thesis further shows that protection and regularization mechanisms implemented by participating countries overwhelmingly targeted regional displacement, leaving extracontinental migrants largely excluded from durable legal pathways. As a result, Latin America has increasingly functioned as a buffer zone within the global migration system, absorbing enforcement responsibilities externalized by destination states while offering uneven access to protection. By centering extracontinental migration within the analysis of regional governance, this study contributes to broader debates on asylum externalization, responsibility-sharing, and the limits of deterrence-based migration control through nonbinding international instruments.

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