Migration Case Study: Mexico -USA (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Geography): Revision Note

Mexico – USA: push and pull factors

• This is one of the largest international labour migration streams in the world

• There were two smaller migration surges during the 1920s and 1950s

  • These happened when the US government encouraged temporary recruitment of Mexican guest workers

• Persistent mass migration between Mexico and the USA only took hold over the last 40 years

• The states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have higher concentrations of Mexican immigrants due to:

  • Proximity to the border

  • Higher demand for immigrant farm workers

  • Long-established urban Mexican communities 

• It is estimated that 24% of foreign-born residents in the USA are Mexican, accounting for more than 10.9 million people 

• Mexicans account for 51% of all unauthorised immigrants in the US (Migration Policy Institute, 2020)

Arguments against migration

• The arguments posed against Mexican immigrants include:

  • Negative environmental effects due to increased population

  • Threat to established US culture

  • Reduces employment for low-skilled US workforce

  • Immigrants' low incomes can contribute to an increase in crime and drug trafficking

  • Increased costs of healthcare, education and detention

Arguments for migration

• Others see these points as racist and uncharitable and argue that Mexicans have brought many advantages to the country:

  • Spanish is now widely taught in schools in the USA to widen the skills of young people

  • Increased tax payments to the government

  • Mexican food and music have become increasingly popular in the USA

    • There is a National Taco Day in the United States

Pull factors

• Higher average incomes in the USA

• Lower unemployment rates in the USA

• Quality of life is better in the USA than in Mexico

• Ability to send remittances back to Mexico

Push factors

• High crime rates in Mexico

• Higher unemployment and poverty rates 

• High rates of subsistence farming

• Hot arid and semi-arid conditions cause water shortages, which also limits agricultural potential

• Natural hazards such as earthquakes

Mexico – USA: impacts of migration

Impacts of migration on the country of origin—Mexico

• Rural areas are left with a shortage of economically active people

• In some rural areas, women outnumber men, with women having problems finding a suitable marriage partner 

• Certain villages, such as Santa Ines, have lost two-thirds of their inhabitants

• Remittances from Mexicans in the US have become one of Mexico’s most important sources of income and boosted Mexican economy

  • In Axochiapan, husbands and fathers are absent for years, leaving women to raise their children, with the community becoming increasingly dependent on remittances

  • Critics argue that dependence on remittances can slow local initiatives and incentives for people to move forward

• Young adults tend to migrate, leaving an ageing community behind

• With fewer children, these communities will gradually die out

• Reduced pressure on services and housing

Impacts of migration on the country of destination (U.S.A.)

• Illegal immigration costs the U.S. millions of dollars for border patrols, fences and detention centres

• Mexicans are seen by some people as a drain on the U.S. economy

• Migrant workers keep wages low, which affects unskilled Americans

• Cultural and racial issues are increased in urban regions 

• The US economy benefits from low-wage Mexican migrants 

• Mexican culture has enriched the US border states with food, language and music, along with National Taco Day, mariachi bands, etc.

• The majority of illegal Mexican immigrants work as janitors, truck drivers, gardeners, construction labourers, or manual labourers

  • These are often jobs that citizens of the destination country do not want to do

  • Known as 3D jobs (dirty, dangerous and demanding)

• Tension has risen over concerns about the availability of jobs for working-class Americans and other immigrants

• Opposition to illegal immigration has seen the rise of 'Minutemen' groups

  • These are civilian groups who patrol the U.S. borders and confront illegal workers around the country

• Remittances are seen as money lost from the American economy

  • In 2021, $48.9bn was sent to Mexico from the U.S

Mexico – USA: management of migration

• Over the last few years, the number of migrants has decreased due to:

  • Tougher immigration enforcement 

  • Increased US Border Patrols

  • COVID-19

  • Strengthening of the Mexican economy

• The USA has several immigration policies and strategies

U.S.-Mexico border wall

• The wall is one of the most obvious deterrent strategies

• By 2021, over 727 km of barriers were in place along the nearly 2,000-mile border

• The wall aims to prevent illegal crossings, especially in high-traffic areas

Increased border patrol

• Substantial investment in personnel and technology:

  • More than 19,000 border patrol agents by 2020

  • Use of drones, sensors, and surveillance towers to detect unauthorised crossings

• Regular joint operations with Mexican authorities to monitor border zones

Stricter legal immigration rules

• Caps and quotas on the number of legal immigrants and work visas

• Long wait times for family reunification visas, which slows down legal migration pathways from Mexico

• E-Verify system: Employers must confirm workers’ legal status to prevent illegal employment

• Expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since January 2025

  • Employment of 20,000 new ICE officers

  • Expansion of powers for example access to immigrants' tax information

Changes to asylum policy

• The 'Remain in Mexico' policy, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), was introduced under the Trump administration

  • Required asylum seekers (including Mexicans and Central Americans) to wait in Mexico while their U.S. asylum claims were processed

  • Critics say it exposed migrants to unsafe conditions; supporters argue it reduced false asylum claims

• In 2022, the Biden administration attempted unsuccessfully to end the policy

Bilateral agreements

• U.S.-Mexico Joint Declarations (especially 2019):

  • Mexico agreed to deploy its National Guard to slow northbound migration

  • Increased enforcement along Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala to reduce migrants from Central America

Title 42 Public Health Order

• Put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to immediately expel migrants, including many Mexicans, without formal asylum hearings

• Publicised as a health measure, it also functioned as a way of controlling immigration

Strengthening the Mexican economy

• There have been efforts to improve the Mexican economy to:

  • Create more job opportunities

  • Reduce poverty

• The aim is to make Mexico a more attractive place for people to stay, thus reducing the need to migrate