Introduction and thesis statement
Different people have different reasons for migrating to other countries. However, there are two main reasons why many people migrate. First, some people just want to get away from their home countries because there are things they do not like. The things that make people migrate to other nations are known as “push factors”. This includes things such as political fears, poor living standards, and natural disasters (Blasko 123). Secondly, some people migrate to other nations because they are attracted to some things in the other nations. These are pull factors. But where would we classify the Mexican immigration to the USA? This paper will exclusively explore how Mexican immigration affected the state of Mexico and its impacts on the U.S from the early 1900’s to the 2000’s. The paper will look at the policies passed by the Mexican government to prevent the people from leaving and why people lack of opportunity in Mexico. The paper will as well discuss what gave people the mind set to leave and how they managed to migrate.
Impacts of Mexican migration in Mexico and the United states
The second impact of Mexican migration to the USA has reduced unemployment rates in Mexico. As a result of massive migration of Mexicans to the United States of America, there is no more pressure on the country’s land, social services and jobs. Studies have shown that the unemployment rate in Mexico reduced significantly as a result of a lot of people migrating to the USA. The health services in Mexico were no longer over capacity as the population has reduced by people moving out of the country (Johnson 76).
Another impact that resulted from Mexican migration to the United States of America is the increased amount of money being sent back to Mexico. When people moved to Mexico, they got good jobs that that catered for their needs and those of their families back in Mexico. They therefore started sending money back home and this went a long way I helping Mexico economy greatly. This is because people had money to spend on goods and services and thus indirectly paying their taxes. On the other hand, the America’s economy is being greatly affected as there is less money being spent on products which are taxed in America. This is because the Mexican immigrants sent the money they earn back home to their families rather than spending it in America.
Conversely, it is important to understand that not all impacts of Mexican migration to the USA are positive. First, Mexican migration led to the increases unemployment rate in the USA. This was due to the increased number of people. The wages also depreciated since the immigrants do not demand so much money for work done. Poverty increases in America since migrants work at extraordinarily low wages, Americans who are desperate for a job are now often projected to work at this extraordinarily low wages too which they can’t afford to do, leading to increase poverty. Many companies are also replacing American labor with cheaper migrant labor increasing unemployment as people are forced out of their jobs (Borjas 102)
Another negative impact of Mexican migration to the USA is shortages of potential workers to work in the newly freed jobs. This is due to the fact that young and skilled workforce is the ones who migrate from their country to America. In Mexico, food shortage arises because all economically active people migrating to USA are from rural areas and these are the areas in which the country depends on for food supply.
Policies by the Mexican government to curb immigration
In order to control the massive migration of Mexican to the United States of America, the Mexican government has had to dig deep and find reasons why people are leaving since it with these reasons that they know what they are up against. For the first time in 60 years migration trends have been reversed. Today, studies show that the number Mexicans are going back to Mexico surpasses those leaving the country. The reverse is attributed to several policies that the Mexican government has put in place to curb the migration. Let us explore some of these key policies that have been successful in curbing Mexican migration (Bodvarsson 102).
The first policy the Mexican government put in place is improved economic situation in Mexico. This has in turn helped control migration especially after the United States suffered the famous economic crisis in 2008 which rendered many jobless. Since many Mexican moves to the U.S for jobs which are now not forthcoming they are forced to go back to Mexico where they are better off. This has created a realization among Mexican citizens that life isn’t as easy in the U.S as it seems.
The second policy the Mexican government has put in place is improving the wages and salaries paid in Mexico to equal those paid in the United States. The attractive wages payable across the border are now found within their borders and for these reasons Mexicans see no reason to hustle their way to the U.S when they can earn an equal amount at home. This has therefore made many people think twice before migrating to the USA since there is not much difference (Borjas 121).
The third policy is better social amenities thus reducing the incentive for Mexicans to leave Mexico. These social amenities include better access to healthcare and education. Initially families migrated to the US so as to secure better education and health care which was not upcoming in Mexico for their families. With these services now improved Mexicans have a reason to stay put at home.
The fourth policy that the Mexican government has put in places the eradication of drugs in Mexico. Drug cartels and organized criminals are found in the northern part of Mexico which also serves as a route for immigrants to enter the U.S. With the government in control of this boarder Mexicans find it difficult to leave the country illegally. All these efforts are with the help of the United States which is now the home of 11% of the native population of Mexicans. It is evident that in the near future the problem of immigration will be solved and Mexicans can stay in their country and build it to prosperity (Borjas 91).
Reasons for lack of opportunity in Mexico
First, the contemporary Mexico presents a paradox of a stable regime and a home of political assassinations and popular rebellions. This is in addition to globalization and recurrent economic crises which has led to its lack of opportunity for not it native citizens, but also foreigners as well. Additionally, the modern territorial boundaries have distorted the cultural unities of the pre-Columbian world. The geographical dimension of Maya civilization, for instance, included areas that would in colonial times become the south eastern territories of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (namely Yucatan) and the core territories of the Kingdom of Guatemala. These territories have created an environment that greatly hinders development opportunities to the people which in turn caused lack of opportunity in Mexico (Johnson 145).
Secondly, Mexico has also been faced with decades of deteriorating government finance in the late colonial period that left independent Mexico with a debt problem. External loans and trade recession compounded this problem. Internal political divisions undermined any attempt to apply a consistent policy with regard to the far northern territories. With so many financial situations this has prevented the government from concentrating on improving the welfare for its people and thus causing lack of opportunity in the country.
Thirdly, Mexicans in the territories have in many incidences fallen under US occupation. This has frequently made people to become second-class citizens in what had been their own country: pushed off their land or confined to ‘bar-Rios’, they face discrimination in a variety of ways. Out of that experience sprang the Chicano movement from the 1960 s which expressed itself in both culture and politics. This greatly enhanced the lack of opportunities in the country due to the political and cultural instability (Menchaca 83).
Lastly, from the vantage point of the United States, Mexico appeared to be underdeveloped, potentially unstable, and even conceivably a security risk. The primacy of negative sentiments remains a striking feature of the US perceptions of Mexico, which has not diminished but may even have increased during the 1990s through media attention to drug trafficking, human-rights abuses, and widespread corruption. Failure to eradicate these problems makes Mexico seem culpable across a wide span of US opinion therefore reduced chances of opportunities in the country (Borjas 109).
What gave the people that mind set to leave Mexico?
The outer cultural births that is Spanish, German and mid-eastern did not give people the mind to leave. However, this greatly accelerated by the issue of the status of the Spanish language within the United States in relation to the unique official status of the English language. This issue went beyond the question of the Mexican border. Despite the fact that many such immigrants aspired to have US citizenship and the benefits of US material life, Latin American culture was strong enough to resist absorption into the prevailing English language culture. In addition, most immigrants did not wish to forfeit their distinct identities. Accordingly, the late twentieth-century reinforcement of the already existing Latin American historical presence within US-controlled territory raised the question of cultural and linguistic integration (Johnson 56).
Earlier migration resulted from Porfirian land policies and conditions during the Revolution in the 1910s. Much mid-century cross border migration derived from the US bracero program of 1942–64, which introduced the concept of the ‘wet-back’ to California and Texas popular culture. Failed agricultural reform policies in the aftermath of the Revolution led to the recreation of ‘branches’ of Mexican villages within the US cities themselves. In January1998, Jalisco was reputed to be the Mexican state with the largest number of migrants: 1.5million people (Bodvarsson 70).
How Mexican managed to emigrate
There are several ways in which the Mexican managed to emigrate. First, in the decade from 2000 to 2010, the Mexican–American population grew by 7.2 million as a result of new immigrants either matched by the number of births. From 2005 to 2010, 1.4 million Mexicans and their families left the U.S to move to Mexico, according to data from the 2010 Mexican census .While most of these immigrants returned voluntarily, an estimated 5% to 35% returned as a result of deportations between 2005 and 2010 (Menchaca 90).
Another way in which the Mexican managed to emigrate was through the use of pull and push factors. The push and pull factors propelling between Mexico and U.S migration were relatively limited in the early 20th century. Transportation and social networks linking Mexicans to the United States were poorly developed, and migrant farm workers had limited access to labor markets beyond the four southwest Border States.
Violence and economic dislocation during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) resulted in additional migration, but also created opportunities within Mexico during the 1920s. U.S. demand for migrant workers plunged during the Great Depression as unemployment rates climbed to 25% in 1933, and remained above 15% until 1940 (Johnson 67).
With limited push-pull factors, agricultural employers lobbied to exempt Mexicans from tough overall immigration restrictions passed in 1917.Over the objection of labor advocates, Congress created the first U.S guest worker program, allowing Mexican non-immigrant admissions between 1917 and 1920, and then exempted Mexicans and other Western Hemisphere migrants from per country immigration limits imposed on the rest of the world beginning in 1921 (Borjas 98).
The bracer program was another way through which immigration took place. As the United States mobilized for World War II, agricultural employers demanded increased labor; but after a decade of limited inflows they struggled to recruit Mexican workers. Mexican officials continued to oppose the new immigration, which they viewed as a drain on Mexican resources and based on the experiences of earlier migrants—as a threat to workers’ rights. U.S. officials viewed immigration through the lens of the war effort, including the need to strengthen U.S. and Mexican relations, and were deferential to Mexican concerns. All these ways among others shows how Mexicans managed to emigrate (Bodvarsson 78).
Work cited
Blasko, Larry. Opening the borders: solving the Mexico/U.S. immigration problem for our sake and Mexico's. Jamul, CA: Level 4 Press, 2007. Print.
Bodvarsson, Örn B., and Hendrik Berg. The economics of immigration theory and policy. Dordrecht: Springer, 2009. Print.
Borjas, George J.. Mexican immigration to the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Print.
Johnson, Kevin R., and Bernard Trujillo. Immigration law and the US-Mexico border: ¿sí se puede?. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2011. Print.
Menchaca, Martha. Naturalizing Mexican immigrants a Texas history. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2011. Print.
