ON THE RECORD

A Conversation with Agustín Escobar Latapí insurance and other social services. Mostly, these families delayed their return until they were sure they had jobs You Can Go Home Again: in . But there are others. Many were Mexican Migrants Return deported and had no official Mexican identity papers. They needed the Mex- in Record Numbers ican embassy in the U.S. to certify their children’s birth certificates or school Agustín Escobar Latapí is a research professor at the Center for records. This is a lengthy process. Certify- ing U.S. school records in Mexico can be Research and Higher Learning in Social Anthropology in , extremely complicated and expensive, Mexico, and is a member of Mexico’s National Academy of Sciences. and sometimes requires children and A specialist in Mexican social policy and migration, he discusses the teenagers to pass Mexican proficiency tests that are neither widely available nor southward return of migrants and its implications. easily understood for someone coming from the U.S. education system. Q. You recently led a large group of were deported or they decided it was And there are a large number of researchers on a binational study best to return to Mexico. youth who were forcibly returned, some of Mexico–U.S. migration. What’s The 2008–10 economic downturn with no work experience and some after behind your finding of unprecedent- and slow recovery is the main reason for serving a jail sentence in the U.S. These ed return migration to Mexico from this large return flow to Mexico. Never- individuals are at significant risk, and the ? theless, it is also clear to me that many some carry out illegal activities in Mexi- The U.S. tends to emphasize the of those returning would have remained co. Nevertheless, our study found that in total size of the Mexican immigrant pop- open to a possible return to the U.S. had Mexico, U.S.-born children of ulation, which hasn’t grown since 2007. immigration policy not changed. is one of the groups with the highest high The other side of the coin, of course, is We tend to hear immigration policy school enrollment rates. Meanwhile, the what happens in Mexico. In a nutshell, hasn’t changed, but it has. Widespread Mexican-born children of migrants who the total size of the population mov- immigration enforcement is a new pol- frequently cross the border are among ing to Mexico from the U.S. has grown icy. Returns and removals have been at those with the lowest enrollment rates. remarkably. In the 2000 Mexican census, their highest levels since 2005, and many This illustrates the diversity of the return 230,000 Mexicans said that their country of these individuals face a mandatory migrant group. of residence had been the U.S. five years prison sentence if they are caught again Two observations are worth earlier. A decade later, 980,000 replied in the U.S. That, along with state and local additional study. First, the poverty rate similarly. In addition to this fourfold enforcement, interagency cooperation in Mexico would be lower today if the increase, today’s return migrants tend to regarding immigration, and a sluggish return-migration population had not stay in Mexico to a much larger extent U.S. recovery in construction and other been so large, or if the potential migrant than in previous periods. higher-paying, lower-skill industries has population had left Mexico. Second, farm The 2010 census also revealed that kept return migrants in Mexico. employment in many of the areas from there were 739,000 U.S.-born individuals A minor but positive trend is that the which migrants originated has expand- living in Mexico. Seven out of 10 in this number of temporary work visas issued ed significantly in the last four or five group are under age 18. A significant por- to Mexicans has increased. Workers prize years. But our fieldwork shows there is tion were born to middle-class Mexican these visas, which were not valued when no simple relationship between returns couples living along the border—holding crossing the border was low-risk and and farm employment. For example, U.S. visas and having the ability to pay penalty-free. in , many farm jobs traditionally for health care—who returned to Mexico performed by locals have already gone with their newborn. But the rest are Q. Who are the return migrants and to migrants from poorer states in Mexico family members of return migrants living how well do they do once they are who have already settled in the agricul- elsewhere in Mexico, not on the border. back in Mexico? Does it matter tural export and tequila industries. Most in this group have little experience whether the return was forcible or Call-center jobs are staffed to a large in Mexico. Although their family helps voluntary? extent by U.S.-born youth whose families with integration, they face many of the We have interviewed families who brought them back to Mexico. Jobs re- same issues with which international mi- planned their return carefully, got all quiring good English are now often in the grants elsewhere must deal. We consider their papers in order, successfully en- hands of people who actually do speak them part of the larger phenomenon of rolled their children in Mexican schools good English, which wasn’t the case until return migration because their parents and signed up for Mexican free health recently.

8 Southwest Economy • Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • Fourth Quarter 2013 }“In the 2000 Mexican census, 230,000 Mexicans said that their country of residence had been the U.S. five years earlier. A decade later, 980,000 replied similarly.”

survey commissioned by [the magazine] figures show small Asian and European Este País showing that general attitudes numbers. There are no sources allowing toward international immigrants are us to distinguish, for example, Europe- not positive. Professional immigrants of an professionals arriving on work visas European stock were seen as enjoying from students who secure Mexican an unfair advantage among employ- scholarships, tourists who decide to stay ers. Conversely, in Southern Mexico, or Asian company workers and their poor Central Americans are the target families. Q. What does the Mexican govern- of the same feelings and attitudes poor ment do to help return migrants? Do Mexicans encounter in the U.S. They are Q. What does your research suggest children get back into school? seen as competing with poor Mexicans has been the impact of the violence There are contradictory claims for jobs. in Mexico on migration to the U.S.? and pressures on the Mexican govern- Our research shows that higher ment, and local government incentives Q. As migration has slowed from homicide rates correlate with falling often run counter to migrants’ inter- Mexico to the U.S., Central Amer- emigration. This seems to be because ests. Mexican identity papers were ican migration appears to have traveling long distances in unsecure relatively easy to come by in the past. picked up. Do some Central Ameri- regions became much riskier. In these However, pressure from the U.S., the cans stay in Mexico? regions, families tend to receive higher war on organized crime and a growing, Some are staying, although official remittances, possibly reflecting deterio- often-undocumented immigrant popu- immigration figures still show few have rating incomes due to crime. lation in Mexico have prompted tighter acquired Mexican residence. For most Along the border, higher violence requirements for most official identity would-be “transmigrants,” staying in correlates with elevated emigration documents. This complicates entry into Mexico is a relatively poor choice, but levels, as one would expect. schools or the formal job market. one that they are increasingly opting for Violence seems to be abating, Unfortunately, the plight of return because of the risks of traveling further although we cannot expect it to fall migrants has not impacted Mexican north. The Mexican labor market and rapidly. Criminal mafias have secured policy in a consistent way. We inter- pay levels are better than in most Central footholds in legal businesses and local viewed officials of the free public health American countries, and many migrants government. Crime rates are falling in program, who confidently stated that can’t go home because violence in their many of the previous hot spots, often U.S.-born children of return migrants countries is much worse than in Mexico. dramatically. But this sometimes means are ineligible. And school officials often They have to perform informal jobs since those groups moved elsewhere. Most of have the last say regarding who quali- they cannot get residence permits, which Mexico is still safe, however, and violence fies or what papers are required. Often, require they have a job and an address. is lower than is often perceived. schools require original documents, The larger picture shows that Cen- which is a problem for someone who tral American transmigration or immi- Q. If the Mexican president’s reform only got one or two copies before leav- gration to Mexico is part of a regional agenda is successful, how might ing the U.S. Mexico’s main cash transfer migration movement that is not Mexico’s that impact emigration? program for poor families is more open, sole responsibility. The entire Central– We are currently experiencing the and enrollment is centralized, but U.S.- North American labor market is being end of the Mexican honeymoon with the born children still need official docu- reconfigured. return of the PRI [Institutional Revolu- ments certified by the U.S. government tionary Party]. The government, which or by the Mexican embassy in the U.S. Q. We have read accounts of more for the first time could get congress to European and Asian migration to pass major reforms, still hasn’t been able Q. Are there data on attitudes Mexico. How has migration to Mexi- to pass and implement them as planned. toward return migrants among other co changed in recent years? The new government will have to prove Mexicans? There are many kinds of flows. For its reforms make sense, provide more There are no national surveys on example, Mexicans who married Central growth and reduce inequality. If it does, Mexicans’ attitudes toward the return Americans in the U.S. are returning to of course, Mexican emigration will find a migrants, although some are under way. Mexico with their families, not usually natural, market-led course. There was, however, a 2009–10 national to Central America. Official immigration

Southwest Economy • Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • Fourth Quarter 2013 9