ABSTRACT

The Western hemispheric experience demonstrates a critical lesson about migration in an age of terrorism. This chapter highlights a different lesson from 9/11 for hemispheric integration and migration. The lesson is more fundamental than the need for improvements at border crossings or the quest for new visa or contract labour regimes. The Western hemisphere has had some success historically in responding to the migration consequences of political and economic instability. Terrorism has not created new problems related to migration, but it has recalibrated the urgency and necessity to respond to those that were already evident. Corruption is also a source of institutional weakness affecting governance of migration in the Western hemisphere. Corruption corrodes the legitimacy of existing institutions and forestalls efforts to build public support during the region's transition to democracy. Migration can be a powerful development asset and, for decades, governments and international financial institutions have searched for its benefits by increasing its volume.