In September 2025, Alianza Americas, in collaboration with the Latino Policy Forum and The Resurrection Project, organized a delegation of community leaders from Chicago to tour the U.S. - Mexico border and Mexico City. 

The delegation was composed of elected officials, state legislators, faith leaders, and organizations led by migrants, with the purpose of strengthening a direct and transnational understanding of migration dynamics in the region. 
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Participants:

The objective was clear: to connect the work of local and state leaders with the consequences of forced return and deportation, as well as with the structural causes of migration from Mexico. 

The delegation sought to provide participants with a transnational perspective that would enable them to understand how current migration policies impact migrants, refugees, and returnees, and how these processes also affect host communities such as Chicago.

This approach contributes to strengthening local and state policy design, service delivery, education, and federal advocacy to transform the migration system. 

The report Beyond the Border: Chicago Leaders Face the Realities of Migration, Displacement, and Forced Return in Mexico documents the findings, testimonies, and analysis that emerged from this tour. Through meetings with consulates, shelters, civil society organizations, scholars, international organizations and people directly affected by migration and forced return, the delegation was able to observe from first hand:

• The increased militarization and implementation of migration deterrence policies in the U.S.
• The weakening of legal avenues for protection and asylum.
• The overload faced by civil society organizations due to reduced resources and political will.
• The profound gaps in the reception, reintegration, and inclusion systems for deported and returned persons in Mexico.
• The rise of xenophobia, racism and criminalization of people in mobility.

The report offers an analysis but also concrete recommendations aimed at governments in Mexico and the United States, civil society organizations and philanthropic actors, with the goal of walking towards more humane coordinated, and human rights-based migration policies.

We invite you to read and download the full report to learn about the key findings, the voices of those on the front lines of response to human mobility, and the urgent proposals to address a migrant crisis that knows no borders, but demands shared responsibility.

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Download the report in PDF