Paloma E. Villegas – författare

North of El Norte provides an important counterpoint to the attention given to Mexican migration to the United States by examining a lesser-known migration route: that taken by contemporary Mexican migrants to Canada.Paloma Villegas considers changing Canadian immigration policy and practice, and the implications of these changes for Mexican migrants without permanent resident status. Her analysis addresses the context in Mexico, the experience of border crossing, policies to restrict migration, and migrants' options to achieve secure status. Villegas also provides an assessment of the barriers migrants encounter once in Canada, specifically in the labour market, in their creative pursuits, and in accessing health care.Drawing on interviews, policy documents, media accounts, and literature from local social service organizations, North of El Norte concludes that migration – and by extension migrant illegalization – is assembled, produced, and negotiated. The comprehensive research in this book sheds light on how individuals and institutions work to illegalize migrants and on migrants' active resistance to these efforts.

North of El Norte provides an important counterpoint to the attention given to Mexican migration to the United States by examining a lesser-known migration route: that taken by contemporary Mexican migrants to Canada.Paloma Villegas considers changing Canadian immigration policy and practice, and the implications of these changes for Mexican migrants without permanent resident status. Her analysis addresses the context in Mexico, the experience of border crossing, policies to restrict migration, and migrants' options to achieve secure status. Villegas also provides an assessment of the barriers migrants encounter once in Canada, specifically in the labour market, in their creative pursuits, and in accessing health care.Drawing on interviews, policy documents, media accounts, and literature from local social service organizations, North of El Norte concludes that migration – and by extension migrant illegalization – is assembled, produced, and negotiated. The comprehensive research in this book sheds light on how individuals and institutions work to illegalize migrants and on migrants' active resistance to these efforts.

This book explores migrant students’ struggles for equitable access to higher education in Canada, focusing on a first-of-its-kind bridging program at York University.Through the concepts of “bordering” and “countering,” Villegas and Aberman examine how students excluded due to immigration status resisted systemic barriers by forming supportive classroom communities and challenging dominant narratives. Providing essential insights for educators, policymakers, and advocates seeking to build more inclusive and just higher education systems, this book reveals how everyday acts of resistance can transform exclusion into opportunity and reimagine universities as sanctuaries.