Mexico

An estimated 7 percent of people in Mexico were not registered with the government at birth and thus lack official record of their name, age, parentage, and citizenship. Without a birth certificate, unregistered Mexican children lack access to education, health care, and basic social services, while unregistered adults face significant economic and civic-integration challenges. Both groups are more vulnerable to being trafficked, exploited, or recruited into criminal groups. This article provides a primer on this important issue, with insight into the experiences of unregistered, unauthorized Mexican immigrants in the United States.

With about 10 percent of Moroccan and Mexican citizens living abroad, remittances have become a vital source of income and poverty alleviation for both countries. Hein de Haas and Simona Vezzoli of the International Migration Institute, University of Oxford explore how migration has affected development and ways to reframe the migration-development debate.