ImmigrationMexicans are migrating, just not across the U.S. border
Mexican migration to the U.S. is in decline. The Pew Hispanic Research Center has found that since 2009, more than one million native-born Mexicans living in the U.S. returned to Mexico. But many other Mexicans never crossed the U.S.-Mexican border in the first place. Why are some Mexican migrants choosing to stay home? What does it mean for the U.S. border with Mexico? The decline in migration to the U.S. is not simply linked to building more barriers at the border. Changing demography, economy, the difficulties of living in the U.S., and a growing sense of opportunity at home, among many other factors, are shifting Mexican migration to the U.S. Migrants balance risk and opportunity as they decide to move. Fostering the continued growth of those possibilities within Mexico, and the continued strengthening of the Mexican economy can help build a future without building a wall.
Mexican migration to the U.S. is in decline. The Pew Hispanic Research Center has found that since 2009, more than one million native-born Mexicans living in the U.S. returned to Mexico. But many other Mexicans never crossed the U.S.-Mexican border in the first place.
Why are some Mexican migrants choosing to stay home? What does it mean for the U.S. border with Mexico?
The decline in migration to the U.S. is not simply linked to building more barriers at the border. Changing demography, economy, the difficulties of living in the U.S., and a growing sense of opportunity at home, among many other factors, are shifting Mexican migration to the U.S.
Every year millions of Mexicans travel from their hometowns to other parts of the country for work, education and personal freedoms that domestic life and traditional expectations often limit. Migrants who decide to travel to Mexican cities, tourist sites like Cancun, factories and farms may not earn the wages that lie just across the border. Yet, they also avoid the difficulties that often come with adapting to the U.S.
Internal migration is not new, and moving within Mexico has a rich history. It is something that rural folks have done for generations, while migration to the U.S. grew only in the 1980s and 1990s.
Based on our research published in the International Journal of Sociology, we argue that internal migration is an important and viable alternative for people who are in search of security and opportunity and will not or cannot cross the U.S. border.
Oaxacan migrants in Mexico
We spent time with families in rural villages in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, and learned that internal migration has a long history in the region. Through the mid-20th century, Oaxacans found opportunities as itinerant vendors traveling throughout the region and working on coastal plantations during the harvest season.
Don Betto, who lives in the Sierra Madre del Sur, told us about his trips to southern Mexico in the 1950s and 1960s. (Our study was designed to ensure our subjects remained anonymous, so Don Betto is not his real name. All subjects’ names have been changed.) Following the planting season, he carried cookware on his back, selling door-to-door to earn the cash that his family could count on during the year.
