Mexico

Migrants moving from Mexico to the United States represent the world's largest migration corridor, and the two countries have a long, complicated history with respect to immigration. Previously a country of emigration, Mexico increasingly has been experiencing new roles: as a country of transmigration and increasingly of settlement. The research here examines Mexico's relationship with its vast diaspora in the United States; the economic, insecurity, and other factors that have led to sizeable emigration; and the country's evolving policymaking with respect to migration.

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MPI en Español

MPI publishes its content most on point to migration policies, trends, and immigrant populations in Latin America and Spain in Spanish. You can access all of our Spanish-language content, including reports, commentaries, multimedia, and press releases, here, as well as sign up for updates when we publish Spanish-language content and learn more about our Latin America and Caribbean Migration Portal.

Recent Activity

Reports January 2019 Sustainable Reintegration: Strategies to Support Migrants Returning to Mexico and Central America By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, Luis Argueta and Randy Capps	Articles October 11, 2018 Mexican Immigrants in the United States By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
Multimedia September 5, 2018 Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration	Multimedia July 12, 2018 Cambios en el Panorama de Control Migratorio Interno Durante la Administración Trump
Commentaries June 2018 House Bills Would Largely Dismantle Asylum System at U.S.-Mexico Border By Jessica Bolter and Sarah Pierce	Multimedia June 5, 2018 Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together
Books June 2018 Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together By Andrew Selee	Articles May 30, 2018 In Search of Safety, Growing Numbers of Women Flee Central America By Jeffrey Hallock, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, and Michael Fix

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Reports January 2010 Protection through Integration: The Mexican Government's Efforts to Aid Migrants in the United States By Laureen Laglagaron	Reports November 2009 The Binational Option: Meeting the Instructional Needs of Limited English Proficient Students By Aaron Terrazas and Michael Fix
Reports September 2009 Migration and the Global Recession By Michael Fix, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Jeanne Batalova, Aaron Terrazas, Serena Yi-Ying Lin and Michelle Mittelstadt	Books September 2009 Closing the Distance: How Governments Strengthen Ties with Their Diasporas
Reports November 2008 The Growing Global Demand for Students as Skilled Migrants By Lesleyanne Hawthorne	Reports October 2008 Demographic Trends in Mexico: The Implications for Skilled Migration By Elena Zúñiga and Miguel Molina
Policy Briefs September 2008 Learning by Doing: Experiences of Circular Migration By Kathleen Newland, Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Aaron Terrazas	Policy Briefs July 2008 Hometown Associations: An Untapped Resource for Immigrant Integration? By Aaron Terrazas, Jamie Durana and Will Somerville

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Profile

February 25, 2010

Mexico: A Crucial Crossroads

The recent recession has affected Mexicans in the United States, new flows northward, and remittances to Mexico. Francisco Alba of El Colegio de México examines the latest trends as well as Mexican government policies toward the diaspora, Mexico's role as a transit country, and immigrants and refugee and asylees in Mexico.

Feature

May 21, 2009

Uncovering the Emigration Policies of the Catholic Church in Mexico

In the 1920s, the Catholic Church in Mexico feared that mass emigration north caused the breakup of families and religious conversions. David Fitzgerald of the University of California, San Diego looks at how Church policy eventually became a voice for migrants' rights and how these policies have affected Mexican migration flows and Mexican government policies.

Feature

June 2, 2008

Women Migrants in Detention in Mexico: Conditions and Due Process

Approximately 400,000 migrants transit through Mexico each year in order to reach the United States, many of them women from Latin America. Gabriela Diaz and Gretchen Kuhner explain how the detention system's structure and new detention procedures affect women.

Feature

October 1, 2007

Mujeres Migrantes en Tránsito y Detenidas en México

Click here to read the article in English.

México es uno de los principales países de tránsito de migrantes en el mundo, particularmente para los miles de centroamericanos que viajan cada año por el país con el objetivo de alcanzar los Estados Unidos.

Feature

March 1, 2007

Women Migrants in Transit and Detention in Mexico

Since 2000, Mexico has further intensified efforts to detain and deport irregular migrants. Gabriela Diaz and Gretchen Kuhner investigate the experiences of women migrants, the majority of them from Latin America, who have been detained in Mexico en route to the United States.

Recent Activity

Articles

March 2, 2022

The World Is Witnessing a Rapid Proliferation of Border Walls

The number of border walls globally has multiplied at a rapid clip, from fewer than five at the end of World War II to more than six dozen now, with more under construction. Most of the world's border fortifications have been built since the turn of the millennium, and are intended to accomplish a range of functions. This article charts the remarkable growth and normalization of border walls globally.

Articles

December 2, 2021

Court-Ordered Relaunch of Remain in Mexico Policy Tweaks Predecessor Program, but Faces Similar Challenges

The Biden administration's court-ordered restart of the controversial Migrant Protection Protocols, known informally as the Remain in Mexico policy, puts it in the awkward position of reviving a program it is simultaneously still trying to end. The Trump-era program forced tens of thousands of migrants to wait out the duration of their U.S. immigration court hearings in Mexico and was only questionably successful at deterring unauthorized arrivals.

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 24, 2021

Thinking Regionally to Act Locally in Immigration Policy

With migration a dynamic phenomenon in the Americas, the U.S. government increasingly is realizing that migration management should be viewed in a regional context. This requires a new set of policies and ways of engagement with countries in North and Central America, and beyond, as MPI President Andrew Selee discusses with colleague Andrea Tanco in this episode of our World of Migration podcast.

Reports

October 2021

Migración africana a través del continente americano: impulsores, rutas y respuestas normativas

La cantidad de migrantes africanos que viajan por América del Sur y Central con la esperanza de llegar a la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México para buscar asilo es pequeña, pero está aumentando. Este informe examina los factores que impulsan la migración africana a través de las Américas, las rutas y los desafíos comunes, y las respuestas de países de tránsito en América Latina.

Reports

October 2021

African Migration through the Americas: Drivers, Routes, and Policy Responses

The number of African migrants traveling through South and Central America in hopes of reaching the U.S.-Mexico border, many seeking asylum, is small but increasing. This report examines the factors driving African migration through the Americas, common routes and challenges, and how transit countries are responding.

Articles

September 30, 2021

Haitian Migration through the Americas: A Decade in the Making

The chaotic arrival of thousands of Haitians at the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2021 was the culmination of a journey through the Americas that began for many a decade ago. This article examines how Brazil became a refuge for many after Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, and how Haitians then moved on to Chile and other countries as conditions changed, and then onward again further north.

Articles

May 20, 2021

Mexico’s Search for Disappeared Migrants Has Evolved, but Challenges Remain

Tens of thousands of migrants have gone missing in Mexico in recent years, with the country having one of world's highest rates of disappeared persons. In 2015, the Mexican government created institutions to investigate these cases and work with the missing migrants' families, who are often their most vocal advocates. This article explores the reasons why migrants disappear, as well the institutions established to investigate cases and their impact.

Video, Audio, Webinars

April 15, 2021

Building Effective Migration Management Capacity in Mexico and Central America

This report release event examines migration management in Mexico and Central America, and the growing government attention to migration functions, enhanced immigration enforcement, increased investments in asylum systems and existing protection frameworks, as well as labor migration policies. This is the original audio. Speakers made their remarks in Spanish and English. There is no interpretation on this version. Spanish and English interpretations will be posted soon.

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