Patterns and reasons of the migration from Central America and Mexico to the United States (ii)

Migration policy is of huge interest in the Central and North American regions. In the United States, a nation built by immigrants, there are immigrants from different countries, religions and cultures. Latin American immigrants are one of the largest groups making about 46 percent of the total immigrant population, according to the Census Bureau.

Why do Central Americans and Mexicans migrate?

   The Spaniards colonized the Central American region in the 1500’s. At that time, a vast agricultural zone helped create a few riches than other Spanish colonies. During the late 19^th century coffee and other export crops were introduced, giving path to the liberal reforms that privatized communal lands, displacing numerous peasants and beginning a pattern that continues to this day: an oligarchy in control of the land and the armed forces, along with a majority of the population fighting a never ending poverty. This led to revolution, insurgency movements and civil wars in the region since the 1970’s until the early 1990’s.

   Civil wars during that time not only killed thousands of people, but also provoked a large amount of the population to mass migrate from their country or origin, particularly to the United States making Mexico a transit country, most of them illegally. At the beginning, they sought protection in neighbor borders and Mexico, and with time these people found others who were seeking opportunities in the U.S. and joined them in this endeavor. Even after the civil conflicts were over in the 1990s, migration increased.

   Civil wars played a very determinant role in the forced mass migration from Central America to the United States. However, in the years following civil wars, the reasons for migration have diversified and it is currently being motivated by natural disasters, political issues, and especially by economic reasons. With the intention of opening their markets to globalization, local economies saw changes in the labor market and migration of workers: there was an increment in the tertiary sector, and as the unemployment increased so did the informal jobs, and the agricultural crisis caused peasants to move to the big cities. On the other hand, in the United States the demand for workforce that required low-skilled workers for temporary jobs would increase, this kind of jobs that are not well-paid and without social security are not attractive for the native population (Marmora, 2002).  

   In the case of Mexicans, they began their migration towards the United States in the early twentieth century motivated for both the political unrest in Mexico and the increasing labor demand in the United States. The first wave began before the World War I being essentially agricultural and railroad construction workers, just like the second and third wave and with the particularity of traveling in and out of the United States due to the Bracero Program, which gave temporary visas to immigrants from 1942 to 1964. The forth wave, began in the 1980s. A combination of Mexico’s 1982 economic crisis, the enforcement of the borders, and harder laws contributed for their staying in American soil and take their families with them. Since then Mexicans have been the largest group of immigrants in the U. S.

   Another big moment was the seek for economic bonds between Mexico and the U.S. with the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as a result Mexico began a great effort to control unauthorized migration and the National Migration Institute (INM for its acronym in Spanish) was established in 1993 as the official governmental institution that would be in charge of Mexico’s migration policy. As more and more Central Americans began to use Mexico for transit purposes, the Mexican authorities began to increase the requirements for visas, such as demonstrating economic solvency and hold a visa to enter their final destination. This was expected to reduce the number of immigrants, but it just increased unauthorized transit and gave smugglers more work. (Alba and Castillo, 2012).

  During the 1980’s, Mexico maintained a tolerant position towards banning and deportation. However, under pressure from the United States, Mexico drastically increased its efforts. About 100,000 Central Americans are apprehended and returned per year, most of them from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. This number was only 10,000 during the 1980’s (Mahler and Ugrina, 2006). Only in 2009, deportations increased to about 61,000 people from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador (Government of Mexico, 2010).

   By 2012 the 59 percent of the estimated irregular immigrants were Mexicans and by 2013 they made 28 percent of the total immigrant population. However, Mexican migration has slowed down since 2010 probably influenced by the Great Recession and a considerable improvement in Mexican educational and economic opportunities. As we have seen, many are the reasons for Central Americans and Mexicans to migrate to the United States, and this trend is facilitated by social networks formed by friends and family who are already in the United States.

Dott.ssa Ana Figueroa