Security, Migration, and the Economy in the Texas–Tamaulipas Border Region: The “Real” Effects of Mexico's Drug War

Abstract

This article analyzes the effects of Mexico's drug war on security, migration, and the economy on the eastern U.S.-Mexico border between the state of Texas and the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Both sides of the border are analyzed and compared simultaneously. The article shows that the extreme violence that Mexico is suffering has benefited U.S. border towns while having a negative impact on Tamaulipas. The positive effects of Mexico's violent spiral on U.S. border security and the U.S. border economy are evident, notwithstanding American public discourse and the reporting of U.S. media alleging the opposite.

The Decline of International Migration as an Economic Force in Rural Areas: A Mexican Case Study

“…The fear of such crimes does not appear to significantly curtail US migration. Those who flee abroad to escape crime tend to be a wealthy minorityentrepreneurs, government officials, and professionals (Keralis, 2011;Correa-Cabrera, 2013). Labor migrant families unlucky enough to be targeted often view it as a price to pay for getting on with their lives.…”

“Everything Went Boom”: Kinship Narratives of Transfronterizo University Students

“…At the risk of simplifying a complex situation, the violence has resulted mainly from territorial struggles between the Gulf Cartel and Zetas criminal organizations, the paramilitarization of these groups, and the Mexican government's drug war in response, during the administration of President Felipe Calderón (Correa‐Cabrera ). While anxieties about the spillover of narco violence to U.S. border regions have proved unfounded, in Tamaulipas, security concerns relating to homicides, kidnapping, and extortion changed the face of cross‐border economic and social integration (Correa‐Cabrera ; Treviño and Genna ).…”

Lethal Violence and Migration in Mexico: An Analysis of Internal and International Moves

“…Subsequently, however, the decline stalled out at 16.8 in 2016 and then rose sharply back up to 27.3 in 2018, his final year in office. The rise in lethal violence has led to speculation that the risk of homicide might have become a driver of Mexican migration, both externally to the United States and internally within Mexico (McCaffrey & Scales, 2011;Correa-Cabrera, 2013;Albuja, 2014). The empirical results on the effects of violence on migration, however, have been mixed.…”

“…Once again, the effect of lethal violence is to inhibit rather than to promote international migration to the United States. violence has any effect on U.S. migration, it is likely confined to very affluent, educated Mexicans living near the U.S. border rather than the broader mass of Mexicans dispersed throughout the nation (Arceo-Gómez, 2012;Correa-Cabrera, 2013).…”