Beyond the Border Buildup: Towards a New Approach to Mexico-U.S. Migration

A proper understanding of the causes of international migration suggests that punitive immigration and border policies tend to backfire, and this is precisely what has happened in the case of the United States and Mexico. Rather than raising the odds that undocumented immigrants will be apprehended, U.S. border-enforcement policies have reduced the apprehension rate to historical lows and in the process helped transform Mexican immigration from a regional to a national phenomenon. The solution to the problems associated with undocumented migration is not open borders, but frontiers that are reasonably regulated on a binational basis

Commentary on "Trajectories for the immigrant second generation in New York City"

This article is commentary on a paper presented at a conference organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in April 2005, "Urban Dynamics in New York City." The goal of the conference was threefold: to examine the historical transformations of the engine-of-growth industries in New York and distill the main determinants of the city's historical dominance as well as the challenges to its continued success; to study the nature and evolution of immigration flows into New York; and to analyze recent trends in a range of socioeconomic outcomes, both for the general population and recent immigrants more specifically.Immigrants - New York (N.Y.) ; Economic conditions - New York (N.Y.) ; Federal Reserve District, 2nd ; Urban economics

How Neighborhood Disadvantage Reduces Birth Weight

In this analysis we connect structural neighborhood conditions to birth outcomes through their intermediate effects on mothers’ perceptions of neighborhood danger and their tendency to abuse substances during pregnancy. We hypothesize that neighborhood poverty and racial/ethnic concentration combine to produce environments that mothers perceive as unsafe, thereby increasing the likelihood of negative coping behaviors (substance abuse). We expect these behaviors, in turn, to produce lower birth weights. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a survey of a cohort of children born between 1998 and 2000 and their mothers in large cities in the United States, we find little evidence to suggest that neighborhood circumstances have strong, direct effects on birth weight. Living in a neighborhood with more foreigners had a positive effect on birth weight. To the extent that neighborhood conditions influence birth weight, the effect mainly occurs through an association with perceived neighborhood danger and subsequent negative coping behaviors. Poverty and racial/ethnic concentration increase a mother’s sense that her neighborhood is unsafe. The perception of an unsafe neighborhood, in turn, associates with a greater likelihood of smoking cigarettes and using illegal drugs, and these behaviors have strong and significant effects in reducing birth weight. However, demographic characteristics, rather than perceived danger or substance abuse, mediate the influence of neighborhood characteristics on birth weight

La guerra de los Estados Unidos contra la inmigración. Efectos paradójicos

A finales de la década de 1950, Estados Unidos permitía la entrada de aproximadamente medio millón de inmigrantes mexicanos al año, de los cuales 450.000 llegaban con visados de trabajo temporal y 50.000 lo hacían con visados de residentes permanentes. A mediados de la década de 1960, los cambios en la política migratoria de Estados Unidos realizados en nombre de los derechos civiles redujeron drásticamente las oportunidades de entrada legal en el país. Se eliminaron los visados de trabajo temporal y se limitaron los visados de residentes a 20.000 por año. Con las oportunidades de entrada legal restringidas, los flujos migratorios ya establecidos simplemente continuaron fuera de los límites legales, lo cual dio comienzo a una inesperada reacción en cadena de eventos que culminaron en una guerra total contra los inmigrantes y el rápido crecimiento -sin precedentes- de población residente no autorizada en Estados Unidos. El presente artículo demuestra que el aumento de inmigración indocumentada en los Estados Unidos y el incremento de la población sin papeles son un producto de políticas migratorias y fronterizas mal concebidas.A finals de la dècada de 1950, els Estats Units permetien l'entrada d'aproximadament mig milió d'immigrants mexicans l'any, dels quals 450.000 hi arribaven amb visats de treball temporal i 50.000 ho feien amb visats de residents permanents. A mitjan anys seixanta, els canvis en la política migratòria dels Estats Units realitzats en nom dels drets civils van reduir dràsticament les oportunitats d'entrada legal al país. Es van eliminar els visats de treball temporal i es van limitar els visats de residents a 20.000 per any. Amb les oportunitats d'entrada legal restringides, els fluxos migratoris ja establerts simplement van continuar fora dels límits legals, la qual cosa va donar lloc a una inesperada reacció en cadena d'esdeveniments que van culminar en una guerra total contra les persones immigrants i el creixement ràpid -sense precedents- de població resident no autoritzada als Estats Units. El present article demostra que l'augment d'immigració indocumentada als Estats Units i l'increment de població sense papers són un producte de polítiques migratòries i frontereres mal concebudes

Social Capital and International Migration from Latin America

We combine data from the Latin American Migration Project and the Mexican Migration Project to estimate models predicting the likelihood of taking of first and later trips to the United States from five nations: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Peru. The models test specific hypotheses about the effects of social capital on international migration and how these effects vary with respect to contextual factors. Our findings confirm the ubiquity of migrant networks and the universality of social capital effects throughout Latin America. They also reveal how the sizes of these effects are not uniform across settings. Social capital operates more powerfully on first as opposed to later trips and interacts with the cost of migration. In addition, effects are somewhat different when considering individual social capital (measuring strong ties) and community social capital (measuring weak ties). On first trips, the effect of strong ties in promoting migration increases with distance whereas the effect of weak ties decreases with distance. On later trips, the direction of effects for both individual and community social capital is negative for long distances but positive for short distances

The United States war against immigration: Paradoxical effects

A finals de la dècada de 1950, els Estats Units permetien l’entrada d’aproximadament mig milió d’immigrants mexicans l’any, dels quals 450.000 hi arribaven amb visats de treball temporal i 50.000 ho feien amb visats de residents permanents. A mitjan anys seixanta, els canvis en la política migratòria dels Estats Units realitzats en nom dels drets civils van reduir dràsticament les oportunitats d’entrada legal al país. Es van eliminar els visats de treball temporal i es van limitar els visats de residents a 20.000 per any. Amb les oportunitats d’entrada legal restringides, els fluxos migratoris ja establerts simplement van continuar fora dels límits legals, la qual cosa va donar lloc a una inesperada reacció en cadena d’esdeveniments que van culminar en una guerra total contra les persones immigrants i el creixement ràpid —sense precedents— de població resident no autoritzada als Estats Units. El present article demostra que l’augment d’immigració indocumentada als Estats Units i l’increment de població sense papers són un producte de polítiques migratòries i frontereres mal concebudes.A finales de la década de 1950, Estados Unidos permitía la entrada de aproximadamente medio millón de inmigrantes mexicanos al año, de los cuales 450.000 llegaban con visados de trabajo temporal y 50.000 lo hacían con visados de residentes permanentes. A mediados de la década de 1960, los cambios en la política migratoria de Estados Unidos realizados en nombre de los derechos civiles redujeron drásticamente las oportunidades de entrada legal en el país. Se eliminaron los visados de trabajo temporal y se limitaron los visados de residentes a 20.000 por año. Con las oportunidades de entrada legal restringidas, los flujos migratorios ya establecidos simplemente continuaron fuera de los límites legales, lo cual dio comienzo a una inesperada reacción en cadena de eventos que culminaron en una guerra total contra los inmigrantes y el rápido crecimiento —sin precedentes— de población residente no autorizada en Estados Unidos. El presente artículo demuestra que el aumento de inmigración indocumentada en los Estados Unidos y el incremento de la población sin papeles son un producto de políticas migratorias y fronterizas mal concebidas.At the end of the 1950s, the United States permitted the entry of a half million Mexican migrants per year, of which 450,000 entered with temporary work visas and 50,000 as permanent residents. By the mid-1970s, however, changes in U.S. migration policy undertaken in the name of civil rights had eliminated temporary work visas and limited legal resident visas to 20,000 per year. With the opportunities for legal entry curtailed, migratory flows simply re-established themselves under undocumented auspices, giving rise to a chain reaction that culminated in a new war on immigrants and the unprecedented growth of the unauthorized population of the United States. This article shows that the rise of undocumented migration and the growth of America’s undocumented population are a product of poorly conceived immigration and border policies