Solidary and Collective Practices of Resistance: How civil society organizations challenge the migration regime in the city of Iquique, Chile

Abstract

The city of Iquique is currently experiencing a new migration phenomenon characterized by migrants entering through unauthorized border crossings since the closure of the border legitimized by pandemic prevention. While previous studies have analyzed the negotiation of the global migration regime at the local level, they overlook the role of civil society organizations in this process. Nevertheless, pro-migrant CSOs play a crucial role in improving the situation of “irregular” immigrants. This study focuses on how CSOs challenge the global migration regime at the local level andwhat practices of resistance can be identified. For this purpose, six interviews were conducted with CSOs actively involved in migrant struggles in the city. The study reveals that the migration regime is challenged at the local level through various practices of solidary and collective resistance from below. However, the study also identifies that the governmental response to this local challenge of the migration regime is the criminalization of solidarity as a new tool for migration control.