On May 24, 2011, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico signed a new Immigration Law, which abolished and superseded the General Population Law that had been in existence for 40 years. The new law involves significant changes to the current immigration regime, although these will not become evident until implementing regulations are published.
Publication of the regulations has been considerably delayed mainly due to the pressure of several nongovernmental organizations advocating for immigrants’ human rights, along with bureaucratic delays in government offices. Regulations are expected to be published later this year.
The regulations are expected to pave the way to protect the human rights of immigrants; develop immigration processes focused mainly on demographic and immigration control issues; promote national security and economic development; and simplify immigration processes to attract foreign investors.
