When the stars aligned: ideational strategic alliances and the critical juncture of Argentina’s 2004 Migration Law

Abstract

Argentina’s 2004 Migration Law spearheaded rights-based immigration policy reforms across Latin America. To deconstruct the policy process that enabled the passing of this ‘revolutionary’ law, we apply a mixed qualitative approach, based on secondary literature, and the analysis of 80 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. We argue that both structural and contingent regime dynamics shaped a window of opportunity for the reform to take place. We further show how key actors amongst civil society organisations, the executive and the legislative branches formed multi-sectoral coalitions and strategic alliances to turn this policy window into a critical juncture of lasting policy change. Ultimately, legislative reform was successful because it was framed as a human right, and not as an immigration issue. The paper contributes to scholarship on immigration policy determinants, ideational strategic alliances, policy windows and critical junctures.

Keywords:

• Migration policy determinants
• policy liberalisation
• human rights
• policy windows
• critical junctures
• South America

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Soledad Castillo Jara and Andrea Kvietok for their research and copy-editing assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 In this paper we anonymise the identities of our interview respondents to protect their privacy and confidentiality. We provide our own translation of interview excerpts into English.

2 For detailed critical analyses of the law, see Acosta (2018), Ceriani Cernadas (2004), Domenech (2007), García (2013), Hines (2010) and Melde (2017).

3 According to the latest available national census data, as of 2010, Argentina hosted 1,805,957 foreign-born individuals, which amounted to 4% of its total population (INDEC 2012).

4 https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docindex/v2_cou_ar_rule159

5 The Argentine Congress and the Supreme Court declared the Self Amnesty Law unconstitutional in 2003 and 2005, respectively (Bonner 2005), and pushed for the nullification of pardons for top generals.

6 As Brumat (forthcoming) highlights, it is important to note that La Mesa grouped organisations working for migrants’ rights – and not immigrant organisations.

7 CELS; Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH); Peace and Justice Service (SPJ); Catholic Migration Commission’s Foundation (FCCAM); Centre for Latin American Migration Studies (CEMLA); CAREF; Confederation of Argentine Workers (CTA).

8 According to Argentine parliamentary procedures, a bill must be first discussed and approved in a commission. Once supported by a majority of that commission, the bill can be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies. In order to discuss support and/or dissent on a bill before presenting it in the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, pre-floor meetings take place in each political party bloc. Bloc leaders gauge their members’ preferences and are informed about the other blocs’ take on the bill, which allows for consensus to be built before the plenary takes place. If approved by the Chamber of Deputies, bills are reviewed by the Senate. Once both legislative chambers have sanctioned a bill, it is sent to the executive branch, who may approve it and promulgate it as law, or exercise its partial or total veto. In case of a total veto, the bill returns to the legislative branch, which may accept the veto or insist on pursuing the bill. If both chambers have two-thirds of the votes, the law is enacted. If they do not succeed, the presidential veto is maintained and the bill cannot be discussed again in the sessions of that year.

9 IACtHR (2003), Juridical Condition and Rights of the Undocumented Migrants, Advisory Opinion OC–18/03, San José: Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 17 September, http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/opiniones/seriea_18_ing.pdf (accessed 5 March 2016).

10 Partially cited in Hammoud Gallego and Freie (2022).

11 The Law on Audiovisual Communication Services (2009); the Law on Same-Sex Marriage (2010, see http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1273705-comenzaron-las-audiencias-publicas-por-la-ley-de-matrimonio-gay (accessed 6 December 2021)); the reform of the civil and commercial codes (2012, see http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-201767-2012-08-24.html (accessed 6 December 2021)); and the Law on Pensions (2012, see https://www.infobae.com/2010/08/25/533237-decision-clave-del-senado-el-82-movil-haran-audiencias-publicas-y-se-votara-octubre/?outputType=amp-type (accessed 6 December 2021)).

12 Last available census data. The 2020 census has been postponed to 2022.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Susanne Melde

Susanne Melde is the Regional Knowledge Management Officer at IOM’s Regional Office for South America in Buenos Aires. She wrote her PhD on Argentina’s migration policy at the University of Sussex, where she also received her MA in human rights. She is a specialist on migration data and governance and coordinated cutting edge research on migration as a strategy for adaptation to environmental and climate change in six countries from 2014 to 2017, created a global migration data portal explaining existing information and limitations and set up the UN Migration Network Hub mandated by the Global Compact for Migration. Her work has been published by different UN agencies and Springer.

Luisa Feline Freier

Luisa Feline Freier is Associate Professor of Political Science and IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement in Latin America and the Caribbean at the Universidad del Pacífico (Lima, Peru). Her research focuses on migration and refugee policies and laws in Latin America, south–south migration and the Venezuelan displacement crisis. She has published widely in both academic and media outlets and has provided advice to various international institutions and organisations such as Amnesty International, ICRC, IDB, IOM, UNHCR, the World Bank and the EU. She is the Migration Research and Publishing High-Level Adviser of the IOM.