A talk by Co-Director Alexandra Delano on the policies of the Mexican state towards its diaspora in the United States. Part of the Latin American Institute Lecture Series at UCLA.

Assistance for immigrants to learn English, receive health services, open a bank account or get a work certification is generally considered to fall solely under the host state and society’s responsibility as part of the process of supporting their integration and ultimately their formal acquisition of citizenship. But in the past two decades, Mexico and other countries of origin of migrants in the United States have been increasingly taking part in these activities through their consular representations. Put in the larger context of diaspora policies, which have gained more attention globally in the past two decades, these practices—focused on establishing closer ties between the home country and the emigrant population through the provision of social services—are one of the clearest manifestations of the re-conceptualization of the boundaries of citizenship and the rights and obligations that come with it, beyond the territorial limits of the state.

More info at http://www.international.ucla.edu/lai/calendar/11835