Mexican Migration to the United States: A Critical Review

Abstract

Although social scientists usually do not speak in terms of laws, they believe they are at least able to make valid empirical generalizations. In studies of Mexican migration to the United States, for example, generalizations drawn from the research literature abound. Thus the problem is not that generalizations are lacking but that they are frequently inconsistent and contradictory. Often such inferences are simply invalid because they are based less on evidence than on the investigator's own preconceptions. As a result, the field of Mexican migration studies has been plagued by a fragmented debate that seems to go on and on without resolution.

Land-System Changes and Migration Amidst the Opium Poppy Collapse in the Southern Highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico (2016-2020)

“…Mixed pathways of land-system change related to peasant migration are due to multiple factors. Among the most relevant are: (1) the differing shifts in local livelihoods and economies following out-migration towards more intensive or extensive, subsistence or commercial, farm or non-farm activities (Hecht et al, 2006 ; Klooster, 2003 ; Moran-Taylor & Taylor, 2010 ; Radel & Schmook, 2008 ; Rudel et al, 2005 ; Zimmerer, 2013 ); (2) diverse ways in which domestic and international remittances are consumed and invested locally (Durand & Massey, 1992 ; Gray, 2009 ; Gray & Bilsborrow, 2014 ; Jokisch, 2002 ; Radel & Schmook, 2008 ; Taylor et al, 2006 ); (3) multiple and contingent forms to overcome labor shortages (Jokisch, 2002 ; Moran-Taylor & Taylor, 2010 ; Zimmerer, 2014 ; Zimmerer et al, 2021 ); (4) different relationships that temporal, circular, and permanent migrants have with land governance in their communities of origin (Bebbington, 2000 ; Klooster, 2003 ; Radel & Schmook, 2008 ; Rudel et al, 2002 ; Taylor et al, 2006 ); (5) contrasting geographic proximity to or isolation from external markets (Rudel et al, 2002 , 2005 ); and (6) varying degrees in which new technologies and innovative natural resource management paradigms and institutions are adopted as a direct or indirect consequence of out-migration (Hecht et al, 2006 ; Klooster, 2003 ; Rudel et al, 2005 ).…”

Capital social, política social y migración desde las comunidades tradicionales y nuevas comunidades de origen en México

“…Algunos factores críticos entre los determinantes de la emigración y el retorno están relacionados con varias formas de capital (Massey et al, 1998). Aunque las familias con acceso al capital físico puedan estar en una mejor posición para financiar los viajes, trabajos anteriores han mostrado que la dirección del efecto depende de la naturaleza del recurso (Durand y Massey, 1992;. Una motivación frecuente entre la emigración mexicana es financiar la construcción o adquisición de una vivienda, y las familias que ya poseen propiedades inmobiliarias es menos probable que produzcan emigrantes; sin embargo, aquellos que son propietarios de negocios generalmente es más probable que participen en la migración, porque la ven como un medio de capitalizar la expansión del negocio y diversificar riesgos.…”

Disentangling the migration-development nexus using QCA

“…Qin and Liao (2016) present a meta-analysis of case studies using QCA. It is acknowledged in the broader literature that 'the social and economic outcomes of migration in origin areas are highly contingent on local development contexts' (De Haas, 2010;Durand & Massey, 1992, as cited in Qin & Liao, 2016: 534). For this reason, a case-oriented meta-analysis is particularly suitable for identifying why the impact of labour out-migration on agriculture is positive in some rural communities but negative in others.…”