Conference Program

Guatemalan workers are increasingly participating in the Agricultural Stream of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The TWFP has been feted as an example of ‘win-win-win’ migration, where migrants, as well as sending and receiving states, all benefit. Indeed, interviews with Guatemalan migrant farmworkers carried out by the author would in part substantiate this, with many describing significant improvements in their material situation due to working in Canada. Yet this situation also represents the profound lack of choices available to Guatemalan workers, particularly rural campesinos, in terms of reproduction strategies.

Given this tension, this paper explores Guatemalan migrant farmworkers’ survival strategies through labour migration amidst the structural constraints of the world economy. It does this in two ways. Firstly, it draws from interviews with Guatemalan migrant farmworkers to understand how they situate themselves within the world and understand the possibilities open to them as workers. Second, it links the analysis of these workers’ experiences to a higher level of abstraction where we can consider labour migration as a realm of both possibility and constraint for workers, analyzing the world-economic structures that these particular workers navigate in pursuit of their livelihoods.

Building on the fact that most interview participants have a background as smallholder farmers, it places this analysis in the context of agrarian change in Guatemala and the constraints facing small-scale agricultural producers in the country. It asks how temporary agricultural labour migration fits within these dynamics, and what the developmental implications of participation in temporary agricultural labour migration are for rural communities. By offering an analysis rooted in workers’ own perspectives on their migration experiences, the paper contributes toward understanding whether labour migration can offer a meaningful support to the persistence of smallholder agriculture and rural livelihoods amidst the various structural forces exerting pressure upon them.

The majority of the Venezuelan migratory exodus since 2015 has been directed toward Colombia, forcing the host nation to rapidly adjust to the arrival of millions of people crossing its border. Historically characterized as a country of emigration due to a decades-long civil conflict, Colombia has had to quickly transform its migration infrastructure in response to this unprecedented influx. This paper argues that Colombia’s humanitarian response can be best understood through the interplay of three intersecting forces: reciprocity, generosity, and control. Reciprocity captures a widely held sense of solidarity and moral obligation among Colombians, rooted in Venezuela’s past support for Colombian refugees. Generosity reflects the Colombian state’s strategic self-framing as a global humanitarian leader, using migration policy to enhance its international image. Control reveals how these humanitarian narratives obscure the underlying mechanisms that restrict migrants’ rights and sustain a condition of ‘liminal legality.’ This paper employs a qualitative content analysis of Colombian migration policy instruments and NGO/government publications alongside media coverage and official public discourse from 2015 to the present. Materials were thematically coded with attention to fraternity, humanitarian performance, and authority, and interpreted through critical discourse analysis to examine how solidarity and exclusion coexist and are narratively produced. The study also prioritized Spanish-language sources and regional scholarship to spotlight Latin American perspectives often marginalized in Global North migration literature. Empirically, the paper showcases how “model” humanitarian responses can operate through conditional inclusion: expansive regularization rhetoric coexists with temporary, uncertain legal status and surveillance-oriented governance that renders migrants vulnerable. Ultimately, the triadic framework offers a nuanced lens to understand Colombia’s migration governance as one that balances cross-border kinship with state oversight, welcoming Venezuelans without fully accommodating them.

This study investigates how digitalization and institutional quality moderate the relationship between immigrant social capital and urban neighborhood revitalization in Sub-Saharan African countries. Utilizing secondary panel data from 11 regions (five west and six eastern) spanning 2000–2022 with 253 observations, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to analyze these dynamics within transitional contexts. The theoretical framework integrates social capital theory, neighborhood change theory, the theory of planned behavior, and institutional theory to capture multilevel influences on immigrant integration and urban renewal. The findings reveal that migration significantly enhances immigrant social capital in West African and the overall sample but not in Eastern regions. Digitalization consistently strengthens social capital across all regions, facilitating network formation and community engagement. Institutional quality positively moderates the effect of social capital on neighborhood revitalization in Eastern Africa and the complete sample, while the combined interaction of digitalization and institutional quality robustly supports neighborhood renewal and skilled immigrant retention across all groups. Social capital exerts a strong direct influence on revitalization outcomes. Multi-group analysis confirms significant differences between the West and Eastern African regions in key structural paths, underscoring the importance of context-specific policies. This study contributes theoretically by expanding migration frameworks to include digital and institutional moderators and offers practical implications for policymakers to enhance integration through digital infrastructure and institutional reforms tailored to regional needs. These insights advance the understanding of the role of immigrant social capital in sustainable urban development within transitional settings.