MIGRATION, PUBLIC POLICY, and LATINO COMMUNITIES

REVISED SCHEDULE February 2: Drug Trafficking –Talons, ch. 8 –DFC, chs. 2 and 9 (Mexico and Colombia) February 9: Migration –Talons, ch. 8 [again] –DFC, chs. 4-5 (Central America + Caribbean) – CR #6 (ExMex) February 16: Mexico’s War on Drugs –CR # 5 (DTOs in Mexico) February 23: War on Terror –Talons, ch.10 –DFC, chs. 1, 3 March 02: Opportunity for Latin America –Talons, ch –DFC, chs. 6-8, 11 March 09: Obama and Latin America –Talons, chs Conclusion –CR #7 (Obama and the Americas)

I. PATTERNS OF MIGRATION INTRODUCTION THE NUMBERS GAME(S) Flows Stocks Proportions Costs and benefits Rates of assimilation

READING Smith, Talons, ch. 8 [again] Dominguez and Fernandez de Castro, chapters 2, 4, 5 (Mexico, Central America, Caribbean) Jorge Castañeda, ExMex: From Migrants to Immigrants, ch. 8 (Course Reader # 6)

EMOTIONAL ISSUES AND POLITICAL DEBATES Ethnicity vs. melting pots Diversity vs. tradition Fairness vs. efficiency NAFTA AND MEXICAN MIGRATION Claims and expectations Preliminary realities Hypotheses and prognostications

NUMERICAL DIMENSIONS ~12 million illegal immigrants in U.S % from Mexico 25% of Mexico’s able-bodied male workforce now in U.S. U.S.-Mexican wage ratio ~ 8:1 or 10:1

Mexican-Origin Population in United States, Mx-born (9.9)

Regional Origin of Mexican Migrants

Geographical Concentration of Mexican Migrants

Remittances to Mexico,

BORDER PATROL AGENTS

EFFECTS 0F BORDER ENFORCEMENT 1. Shifting routes (toward Arizona) 2. Increased use of polleros (smugglers) 3. Reduced “circularity” (more permanent stays) 4. More women and families 5. Increased loss of life

Deaths at the Border 2001 = = = = > 500

PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS Economic threat? September 2000 = 38% agreed March 2006 = 52% Cultural threat? Societal threat?

MIGRATION AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS Context: joblessness everywhere New entries down (not due to border enforcement, since 95% of migrants without papers get through) Return migration stable (despite concern in Mexico about major increase) Within USA, unemployment among Latino men > Anglo men

THE RANGE OF POLICY CHOICE: LEGAL MIGRATION Revise legal quotas Revise criteria for entry THE RANGE OF POLICY CHOICE: ILLEGAL MIGRATION Strategies for restriction: Building fences Blocking corridors (e.g., Operation Gatekeeper) Withdrawing incentives and benefits (e.g., Prop 187) Punishing employers

Strategies for opening: Augmenting quotas Guest-worker programs Eliminating barriers Strategies for reduction: Targeting economic development Circulating information Additional steps?

Initiatives on Migration: Phase 1: The Whole Enchilada (January-September 11, 2001) Phase 2: Focus on Security Phase 3: The Second Term Temporary amnesty for those here and employed Guest-worker program Eventual path to citizenship Phase 4: Barack Obama?

What Would You Do?