Working
on a Problem
It is
well known that many Mexican’s emigrate from their country to the U.S. both in
and outside of the system. What is less
known is the reason why this happens. In
the article “Not Just Mexico's Problem: Labor Migration from Mexico to the
United States”, Gomberg-Munoz talks about how certain people believe that the
main reason for Mexican migration is caused by the economic state of
Mexico. It is explained why people
believe that, it is said that because of Mexico’s economic underdevelopment they
would want to move to the U.S. This
article states many reasons why that isn’t necessarily true. There are several factors that play into immigration;
social, economic, political and many more.
In the
beginning of the 20th century, railroads had caused the urban areas
of Mexico to grow exponentially due to Mexican migration from rural areas. This made them more willing to move somewhere
were work was in demand. So, as a labor
shortages in the U.S. increased recruiters from the U.S came to Mexicans with
promises of wealth in the U.S. This isn’t
the only time that the U.S. has attempted to bring over Mexicans for their own
benefits. Later on a program called the
Bracero program was signed between Mexico and the U.S. in the year 1942. This program was made to help relieve Mexico’s
working population. The article says
that for every documented bracero, 4 undocumented workers came into the
U.S. This shows how the U.S. is has some
part in Mexican’s ease to migrate north. Since they have been shown how to get to the
U.S., those paths have been continually used and are still in use when talking
about immigration from Mexico.
Another
factor that plays a role in immigration is family. Many Mexicans have family in the U.S. already
so they will try to move to be with them.
Some people forget that some of the land was previously owned by
Mexico. This land was taken by the U.S.
after the Mexican American War in 1848.
But what exactly happened to the former Mexican residents that lived
there? They were “given” to the U.S.
along with the land, but instead of becoming full citizens, they were basically
treated as second class citizens. Still, they had family in Mexico that had
fled from the war and may have wanted to return to their family. While
this war situation doesn’t directly apply to immigration today, it does show
that immigration has been going on for a long time, so that means that the
current cause of immigration isn’t due to the economic status of Mexico.
An
important point that I really liked from this article was from a source that
was brought into it. An outside source
from Tonya Golash-Boza said that some reasons for immigration has to do purely
for U.S. interest. Some of those reasons
are that politicians use the immigrants as scare tactics as part of their
campaign to gain votes based of fear. Another
thing that is said is that media pundits use them to boost their own ratings. The last point that is made is that
contractors make a ton of money from them since they are used for cheap labor
and they are willing to work for cheap labor due to fear of deportation and
lack of basic rights. So they are
actually wanted but at the same time not wanted in the U.S.
Another reason that Mexicans
migrate is the violence that is happening in the U.S. “There are incredibly high crime rates in
Mexico, especially in the capital. Homicide rates come in at around 10-14 per
100,000 people (world average 10.9 per 100,000) and drug related crimes are a
major concern.”(1) Many Mexicans seek
refuge from the things that occur in Mexico.
Cartels make Mexico a dangerous place and that is a reason why people in
Mexico want to escape into the U.S.
While
some of the migration was due to economy, workers seeking better opportunities,
it isn’t entirely due to it. All Mexican
aren’t the same, they all have their own reason for coming to the U.S. and the
easy in which it can be done is partly thanks to the U.S. for helping them get
there.
1.
https://geographyas.info/population/mexico-to-usa-migration/
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