This Special Issue on “Migrants and Human Rights Protections” was motivated by ‘mixed feelings’ towards human rights law and what this body of law can really do for migrants. In the literature on migrants’ rights, human rights law has been cast as a ‘hero’ but also as a source of persistent disappointment. This Special Issue aims to further understandings of migrants’ interactions with human rights protections by offering nuanced analyses of human rights regimes’ (lack of) responsiveness to migrants’ needs in a wide range of circumstances. The contributions by Carola Lingaas, Loi Thi Ngoc, Helen O’Nions andMarina Vannelli vividly show that, while migrants’ immigration statuses vary greatly, being a migrant always acts as an actual or potential constraint on human rights protections. For example, Loi Thi Ngoc’s article examines how the illegalisation of Karen refugees in Thai camps places them outside human rights protections, and Helen O’Nions’ paper demonstrates that a ‘secure’ immigration status can also test the reach of human rights regimes. However, notwithstanding human rights law’s enduring struggles to extend protections to migrants, Alejandro Fuentes and Marina Vannelli’s contributions show that developments in the Americas offer hope of more inclusive interpretations and applications of human rights law.