Currently how many Mexican immigrants are there in the United States?

1. Currently how many Mexican immigrants are there in the United States?

2. In 2009, there were approximately 11.5 million Mexican immigrants in the United States1 1: http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=112

3. 62%, or almost 2/3 of all Mexican immigrants, are illegal1 2: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2009.pdf

4. Mexican immigration increase = fear + debate in U.S. society

6. Why are so many Mexicans leaving Mexico? By: Kaitlin Farrell April 5, 2010

7. Family Ties

8. 1,969 mile border • History of immigration between the two countries • Most Mexicans immigrate to the southwest • Circular migration-->permanent settlement • Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

9. “In the felicitous phrase of contemporary immigrant activists, they didn’t cross the border; the border crossed them.”1 http://www.focus-migration.de/Mexico.5296.0.html?&L=1

11. What Does This All Mean? • Family connections across the border help propel immigration! • Almost 2/3 of the Mexican population has a relative living in the United States1 • In a survey of about 5,000 Mexican immigrants, 80% reported having a relative other than a spouse or a child in the U.S.2 • Remittances 1: http://www.focus-migration.de/Mexico.5296.0.html?&L=1 2: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-06-immigrant-survey_x.htm

12. Escaping Crime

13. The Drug Wars • Most prevalent in the northern Mexico, especially Ciudad Juarez • Gruesome • U.S. is partly to blame- we are the consumers • Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s own war on drugs, 2007 • 10,031 have died in drug-related deaths since 20071 • Has created a new immigrant group of asylum seekers, typically “middle-class, employed, and frightened”2 1: http://projects.latimes.com/mexico-drug-war/#/its-a-war 2: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/04/nation/na-asylum4/2

14. Poverty

15. The Statistics • While the percentage of Mexico’s poor is about the same as it was 20 years ago, the population has risen1 • Large gap between rich and poor • In 2008: • 19.5 million people living in “extreme” poverty • 50.6 million people living in poverty2 (just about half of the total population of Mexico) 1: http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/213/45611.html 2: http://www.caller.com/news/2009/dec/13/mexico-needs-defeat-both-poverty-cartels/

16. Poverty is most prevalent in rural areas • Even though only about 25% of the population lives in rural areas, they represent about 70% of Mexico’s extreme poor and about 46% of Mexico’s moderately poor1 1: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMEXICO/Resources/A_Study_of_Rural_Poverty_in_Mexico.pdf

17. States of Origin of Mexican immigrants, 2008

18. Coincidentally…

19. Single Cause? Not Likely • Why such poverty? • No one single cause • Much has to do with the country’s unstable past • Quick history lesson on Mexico…

20. Mexican Political Structure • Independence from Spain declared in 1810 • Have had 3 different constitutions since then • Authoritarian presidents • Revolution in 1910, lasted a decade

21. 3 branches of government, but executive has traditionally held most of the power • Highly centralized • Until 2000, the monopoly political party was the PRI • No re-election policy • Corruption & patronage among officials

22. Economy • After years of instability due to the Revolution, experienced rapid economic growth between 1946-1970 • Predominately urban for first time • “Mexicanize” the economy & growth of national industries1 1: A Concise History of Mexico, p. 256

23. Economic turmoil • 1970s-1980s = economic crises! • Problem with “Mexicanizing” the economy was that it created a closed environment

24. As a result… • Mexican leaders opened up the country to international investment, trade, and competition (aka globalization) • NAFTA, 1994 • Pros and Cons

25. Therefore… • Mexico’s political and economic structures have created many shortfalls • The economic crises especially have “hampered overall growth, halted the creation of new jobs and pushed large numbers of the lower middle class into poverty.”1 1: http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/213/45611.html

26. Is Poverty Improving? • Some say yes because of statistics • But in reality, still large numbers of Mexicans living in poverty • Still see U.S. as opportunity to advance • 1/3 of Mexicans would still move to U.S. if they could1 1: http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=266

27. Conclusion • Why are so many Mexicans leaving Mexico? • Family ties • Escape the violence • Escape poverty • All 3 are connected

28. Bibliography • Baker, B. C., Hoefer, M., & Rytina, N. (2009). Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2009. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2009.pdf • Becker, A. & McDonnell, P. J. (2009, March 4). Drug war creates new class of refugees. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/04/nation/na-asylum4 • Caller.com. (2009, December 13). Mexico needs to defeat both poverty, cartels. Retrieved from http://www.caller.com/news/2009/dec/13/mexico-needs-defeat-both-poverty-cartels/ • Chavez, A. H. (2006). Mexico: A Brief History. (A. Klatt, Trans.). Berkely , CA: University of California Press. • Cevallos, D. (2005, August 23). Not Everyone Celebrates Improved Poverty Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/211/45123.html • Cohn, D., & Passel, J. (2009). Mexican Immigrants: How Many Come? How Many Leave? Retrieved from http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=112 • Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. (2010). Spotlight: Remittances to Mexico 
Cross-Border Money Flows Slowed by U.S. Slump. Retrieved from http://www.dallasfed.org/research/swe/2010/swe1001d.cfm#1 • Focus Migration. (n.d.). Country Profile:Mexico. Retrieved from http://www.focus-migration.de/Mexico.5296.0.html?&L=1 • Hamnett, B. (1999). A Concise History of Mexico. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

29. Income Generation and Social Protection for the Poor. (n.d.) A Study of Rural Poverty in Mexico. Retrieved from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMEXICO/Resources/A_Study_of_Rural_Poverty_in_Mexico.pdf • Jordan, M. & Sullivan, K. (2003, March 22). Trade Brings Riches, but Not to Mexico’s Poor. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/213/45611.html • Los Angeles Times. (2010, April 5). Mexico Under Seige: The drug war at our doorstep. Retrieved from http://projects.latimes.com/mexico-drug-war/#/its-a-war • Nasse, H. E. (2005, December 6). Family, better jobs pull Mexicans to USA. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-06-immigrant-survey_x.htm • Pew Global Attitudes Project. (2009, September 23). Most Mexicans See Better Life in U.S. - One-In-Three Would Migrate: Troubled by Crime, the Economy, Drugs and Corruption. Retrieved from http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=266 • Pew Hispanic Center. (2009). Mexican Immigrants in the United States, 2008. Retrieved from http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1191/mexican-immigrants-in-america-largest-group • Terrazas, A. (2010). Mexican Immigrants in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?id=767 • Voice of America. (2010, March 17). Mexican Government Struggles to Contain Drug War Violence. VANews.com. Retrieved from http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Mexican-Government-Struggles-to-Contain-Drug-War-Violence-88275562.html