1. Introduction

Based on the pressing need for more compassionate and human rights-based approaches to immigration, the introduction summarizes the key points of this volume that address the political, legal, and related hardships that irregular migrants confront in the Americas. Chapters 2–6 examine the history of today’s U.S. closed-door policies that exclude migration from the South. Chapters 7–13 examine the relationships between Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the state as they engage in domestic and regional dialogues to prevent human rights abuses of migrant workers, transmigrants, irregular migrants, and refugees. Chapters 14–19 tackle the debates on how compassion is defined and practiced. They also examine how compassion can become policy and from where the push for compassionate migration actions and policies comes. Finally, the authors propose and articulate their own conceptualization of compassionate migration.