[Mexican migration policies after IRCA]

Estud Demogr Urbanos Col Mex. 1999 Jan-Apr;14(1):11-37, 261.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

PIP: The evolution since 1964 of Mexican government policy regarding migrant workers in the US is discussed. For a decade after the "bracero" program was terminated by the US, the Mexican government attempted to encourage creation of another legal framework for migration, regarded as inevitable whether legal or clandestine. Around 1974-75, a more distant attitude, termed the "policy of no policy," acquired considerable support in Mexican government and academic circles. The no-policy strategy allowed Mexico to achieve certain objectives regarding migration without prompting US intervention in its internal affairs, as for example by a linkage of US migration policy to specific Mexican government actions. The 1986 passage of the US Immigration Reform and Control Act effectively ended the no-policy strategy that had allowed the Mexican government to count on the continued emigration of Mexican workers without compromising its position of promoting respect for migrant rights. The unilateral change in the status quo by the US led to substitution of the "policy of dialogue," a clear signal of the Mexican government's search for a new migration agreement. The policy of dialogue has entailed greater discussion of the two traditional Mexican objectives regarding migration. Some progress has apparently been made concerning migrant rights, but the second and less explicit objective, that of preventing abrupt changes in US immigration policy and in migratory flows, is harder to judge. The atmosphere of freer public debate in Mexico is politicizing migratory policy.

Publication types

  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Americas
  • Demography
  • Developed Countries
  • Developing Countries
  • Emigration and Immigration*
  • Latin America
  • Mexico
  • North America
  • Politics*
  • Population
  • Population Dynamics
  • Public Policy*
  • United States