-U.S. Issues

Late Twentieth Century Migration Poblanos in New York

Luz María Valdés* o v a r B

o f l o d o R

he last two decades of the twen - The road from the Mixtec area of the question like Ro berto Smith of tieth century saw thousands to New York is long and dan - Co lumbia University —whom I met T of poblanos —people from the gerous. You have to cross most of Mex - in New York— who has been studying state of Puebla— arrive in New York. ico, stay for a while in the border city this migration for many years. Little by little, the Big Apple took in where you have a contact (usually Ti - U.S. census data shows how New people born in , Chia utla, juana), pay a large sum of money in York has become a top priority des ti- Piax tla, Ahuehuetitla, Tul cingo del Valle, dollars and take your chances, risking n a t ion for Mexicans. The census, in Chitela, Teco matlan, and your life to cross the border, trying to ad di tion to reporting the size of the pop - many, many more towns from Puebla avoid immigration officials, to illegally ula tion, its socio-demographic cha rac - and surrounding states. enter the United States. And all this, ter istics and territorial distribution, also I would like to reflect here about in the hope of finding in New York the has political and economic func tions, this population flow. While it began good fortune so ardently desired by as Víctor Arriaga says, “determin ing the in the 1940s, its expansion changed many and so harshly won by so few. number of congres s-persons from each life in the places of origin and day-to- Oral history has it that a single fa m - state, the number of votes in the Elec - day existence in destinations like the ily started out on this route in the late toral College and the apportion ment state of New York and several coun - 1930s, but it was almost 40 years later of almost U.S.$38 billion [in 1990] in ties in New Jersey and Connecticut. when migration of poblanos to New York federal funding to the states and cities became a clear social, demographic, for education, health and housing.” 1

* Researcher at the UNAM Humanities economic and political trend. All of An item in the census gives us the rate Coordinating Department. this has been dealt with by experts in of inclusion of Mexicans when each

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person who identifies him- or herself as Jobs in Mexico and New York and Educational Levels Mexican is automatically inc lu ded in the group designated as “Hispa nics,” Mexico New York Junior High School where their origin is specified. Level or More The 1990 census registered 22,354,059 Hispanics in the United States , 13,495,938, Managers 11 1 or 60 percent, of whom were of Mex - Professionals 61 1 ican origin. 2 The 2000 census registered Technicians 95 4 39.2 million Hispanics. If the propor - Office clerks 35 4 tion remains the same, this would mean Semi-skilled services 15 138 80 that today there are 22 million persons Agricultural jobs 8 16 17 of Mex ican origin or descent in the Commerce and artisans 37 26 12 United States, that is, the equivalent Non-skilled agricultural, of all the Hispanics in 1990. If we then commerce and service jobs 121 94 53 add in the undocumented migrants Armed forces 6 —not included in the census— and Students 99 4— the natural population increase in re - Housewives 21 21 — cent years, we would get a much higher Total 326 311 172 number, possibly close to 30 million. According to the 1970 census, New Source: Taken from the 1991 survey on employment done by the author. York was not a favorite destination of Mexican migrants, who were concen - trated mainly in California (41 per - Today, according to the 2000 cen - RESEARCH ON THIS MIGRATORY FLOW cent) and Texas (35 percent), and to a sus, New York has 2,867,583 Hispa- lesser extent in Arizona (5 percent), nics, or 15 percent of the state po p - For more detailed information on the Illinois (3.5 percent), New Mexico (2.6 ulation; in 1990, they represented migratory flows, we have data from my percent) Colorado (2.3 percent), Mi chi - only 12 percent. New Jersey regis tered 1991 research project which was gath - gan (1.4 percent), Washington (0.7 1,117,191 Hispanics in 2000, 13.3 per- ered from two sources: first, Mexico’s percent) and Florida (0.5 percent). cent of the population, whereas in 1990, Consulate General office in New York However, between 1970 and 1980, they constituted only 9.5 percent. If which gave me access to almost 2,000 migration to New York increased, a the proportion of Mexicans among the personal files of people who request - trend which has continued until today. Hispanic population re mains the same ed proof of nationality so they could In 1980, there were 39,000 persons as it was in 1990, this means that there return to Mexico; and sec ond, a month - of Mexican origin in New York State, are now 114,703 Mexicans there, a fi g - long survey done among 340 individu - while ten years later, the 1990 census ure that shows an important underes - als in different parts of the city. registers 93,244. This makes for an aver - timation of this group in that part of age yearly in crease of 8.8 percent. the country, which may be due to the Just as New York became a new desti - fact that, to protect themselves, un doc - COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE nation for Mexicans, in the 1980s there umented migrants tend to avoid being was also an increase in states like Ore - counted in the census. In the early 1990s, the presence of gon, Nevada and Kansas. Only Ne va - In 1992, I witnessed the return of Mexicans in the whole city became da registered a higher rate of increase 73 undocumented workers who were more and more visible, prompting re- in that decade. In 1980, then, the Mex - deported to Tijuana by plane by im mi - search into the ones entering New ican population in the United States gration officials. That was a Thursday; York illegally. began to be redistributed due to a the following Monday, 69 of these During my research, I observed that change in migratory flows. people reported for work in the U.S. services are in the hands of Mex icans,

72 Mexico-U.S. Issues

particularly domestic and gardening ality were from Puebla, 13 percent from 63 percent of those canvased said services. In a great many vegetable, Oaxaca, 12 percent from Mexico City’s they had relatives there and 17 per - fruit and flower shops, the sales per - Federal District, 7.5 percent from Gue - cent responded that they had a job. sonnel are Mexican and the owners, rrero, 4.9 percent from Morelos, 4.4 However, 80 percent came looking Korean. Corner flower vendors who ex - percent from the State of Mexico, 3.1 for work. They also said that in New hibited their wares in supermarket carts percent from Michoacán and 1.5 per - York, immigration officials treat Mex- were Mexican, as well as dry clean ers’ cent from Tlaxcala. Seventy percent icans better than elsewhere. employees and waiters in innumerable of these migrants were between the In terms of housing, 5 percent paid restaurants, from the most up-scale ages of 20 and 39, and 46 percent less than U.S.$500 a month rent; to the informal. There are even places between the ages of 20 and 29. Ninety- 56 percent, between U.S.$500 and with veritable reproductions of a Mex - two percent of the migrants were of U.S.$999; and 7.5 percent, between ican neighborhood diner —complete peasant origin, mainly children of agri - U.S.$1,000 and U.S.$1,500. Because with jukebox, folding metal tables cultural laborers, although they had a rents are so high, apartments are often advertising a Mex ican beer company wide variety of jobs in the United shared by more than two people so that and plastic tablecloths— where you States: salesperson, accounting clerks , the monthly rent per person ranges can order Mex ican soft drinks like Ja- carpenters, welders, auto body me cha n - from U.S.$200 to U.S.$500. Group rritos or Orange Crush and Pepsi-Co- ics, primary school teachers, business - solidarity in matters of housing, seek - la bottled by Embotelladora La Nos- men, soldiers, artisans, painters, watch - ing employment and leisure time is talgia, from Chicago, Illinois. You can makers and itinerant singers. one of the characteristics of the Mex - also meet barmen from the Metro po l - Of those surveyed, 47 percent came ican population in New York. itan Opera House who offer to intro - from Puebla; 15 percent, from Mex - Educational levels were high: only duce you to Plácido Domingo and see ico City’s Federal District; 8 percent 10.6 percent of those interviewed had Mexican street vendors offering chu - from Guerrero, 7 percent from Oaxa - not finished primary school, while 17 rros , tacos and chewing gum. And ca; 6 percent from Morelos; 4 percent percent had a complete primary school around Mex ican Independence Day, from the State of Mexico and 3.5 per - education; 11.8 percent had not con - Mex ican flags abound. cent from Michoacán. Also, 63 percent cluded junior high school, but 31.8 were between the ages of 20 and 29 percent had; 21.4 percent had fin - and 74 percent were men. ished high school or had some college; METHODOLOGY The survey also indicated that 70 and 3.2 percent had graduated from percent of the migrants entered the college. This whole spectrum of Mexican col - U.S. through Tijuana, while others People from the state of Puebla gen - ors and aromas was basic for designing came in through Nogales, Laredo, erally had a lower educational level, the survey that aimed at determin - Agua Prieta or Mexicali. The average but more personal contacts and less ing the place of origin and de mo grap h - cost was U.S.$867, which included difficulty in finding a job. ic, social and economic profile of thes e crossing the border and the air fare Mexicans. The survey was applied in from Los Angeles or San Diego to New metropolitan New York at the Mex - York. Only 8.1 percent arrived through ican consulate, where people who want the international airport in New York; to return to Mexico go to get the papers that is, this is the number who had NOTES they need to do so, places where base - their immigration papers in order. Seven 1 Víctor Arriaga, “Demografía y participación ball, basketball and soccer are played, per cent traveled with their spouse or política en la sociedad estadounidense,” Hispanic churches, Mexican restau - chil dren, while 43 percent traveled Censos y elecciones (Mexico City), October- December 1990. rants and vegetable shops. alone The documents in the Mexican con - A central factor feeding migration 2 United States Department of Commerce, Census Bureau Releases 1990. Census Counts sulate indicated that 45 percent of are established social networks: when on Hispanic Population Groups (Washington, those who requested proof of nation - asked why they had chosen New York, D.C.), 12 June 1991.

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