Mexican Immigration: Four Key Features

Immigration to the United States is an interesting but complex issue that draws much debate among scholars and also a good amount of public discussion. The Mexican case is more atypical due to the fact that it is a phenomenon that includes at least four characteristics that differentiate it from others. Here's a brief introduction to them:

1. Part of the Mexican-origin population in the US was incorporated through annexation as a result of a war. At the time of the 1846-48 war, there were some 100,000 Mexicans in what is now the Southwest (estimates range from 80-120,000).

2. As a mas phenomenon, immigration from Mexico has existed for over a hundred years, whereas other cases have had a much older, shorter, or erratic existence.

3. A decisive factor in originating, formalizing, and sustaining Mexican immigration has been the continuing US demand for Mexican labor and the ensuing recruitment that has taken place by employers and authorities. Mexicans began to migrate in significant numbers in the 1880s, when employers (mining, agriculture, railroads) turned to the south in order to replace foreign labor that was lost due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. During World War I a labor program came into existence, even though Mexico itself was engaged in a civil war of its own (1910 Revolution) and the 1917 Constitution sough to discourage and control such an emigration. During World War II a new and greater labor recruitment program (the Bracero Program) was established, lasting from 1942-64. During this time, some 4.5 million contracts for seasonal labor were awarded. The program was terminated but the demand continued through informal (undocumented) and formal (documented) means. The Bracero Program reinforced the tendency of having Mexicans come to the US to perform manual, low-paying labor. Hence, most Mexican immigrants have historically been working class. The pattern has shifted more recently, influenced by the exodus of more urban and better educated Mexicans as a result of the various economic crises (1982, etc.).

4. Mexico, like Canada and the United States, are part of a regional economy that was created with the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 and its implementation on January 1, 1994. At the time of the debate over NAFTA, serious immigration scholars emphasized that the accord would have the effect of increasing Mexican migration flows to the north for several decades. NAFTA presented an opportunity to integrate labor flows into the discussion and, possibly, reduce the political conflict that has taken place since. However, the authorities of that time decided to exclude labor from the negotiations.