The Regional Dimension of Mexican Migration to the United States

Abstract

Although Mexican migration to the United States dates back over a century, reliable statistics documenting its geographical distribution have only recently become available. This new information, together with the creation of a Geographical Data System and the recent development of multilevel analysis, have allowed one to examine the regional context of Mexican migration to the US. Does the geographical distribution of poverty and under-employment correspond to that of worker productivity or productivity investment? Or does it simply depend on its proximity to the Northern border? Can the spatial logic of international migration be compared with that of internal mobility? Beyond what the answers to these questions can teach us, this paper draws on two new tools for context analysis and examines how they can be used to study international migration: first, the Geographical Data systems, which measure physical factors (aridity, isolation, land use, environmental degradation), together with socio- economic statistics and familial organization and reproduction. However, the regional context does not directly influence the decision to migrate, which is apparently governed more by individual and household criteria, since this is a highly personal or familial decision. It is interesting to compare data from various levels of observation, in order to determine which factors concern the individual, the family or the region in international migration.