Bureaucrats for Immigrant Rights: Mid-Level State Bureaucrats’ Activism and Entrepreneurship Advanced Immigrant Rights Laws in Brazil and Paraguay

Can executive bureaucrats overcome political opposition to create social goods? Most of the literature does not fully consider MLSBs’ activism and entrepreneurship under less favorable conditions of political opposition and when organizational effectiveness and autonomy improve or deteriorate. Understanding the connection between bureaucrats’ agentic action and these organizational shifts is particularly relevant to Global South bureaucracies, where state organizations vary in effectiveness and autonomy. I compare MLSB’s activist and entrepreneurial efforts to pass immigrant rights laws in Brazil and Paraguay. MLSBs in both countries drafted bills and built support from peers, high-ranking politicians, and social interest groups amid political opposition to immigration. But, during more stable periods, bureaucratic infighting over migration jurisdiction (within or between ministries) derailed their efforts. Broadly, findings indicate that MLSB in the Global South can change laws to resolve politicized social problems, such as immigrant rights. The success of their efforts is contingent on their ability to unite to enhance their bureaucratic organization’s autonomy.