North of El Norte

Book excerpt: 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 b by contemporary Mexican migrants to Canada. Paloma Villegas examines not only the implications of changing Canadian immigration policy and practice but also the barriers that migrants without permanent resident status encounter once in Canada, specifically in the labour market, in their creative pursuits, and in accessing health care. Her comprehensive research sheds light on how individuals and institutions work to illegalize migrants and on the migrants' active resistance to those efforts.