Mexico‐US Migration: Moving the Agenda Forward

Abstract

SUMMARY The US and Mexico during the 1990s embraced closer economic integration as well as increased cooperation on migration management. In 2001, that culminated with a joint Presidential initiative to establish a new migration management framework. That effort stalled in 2001, and the authors have explored ways to revive cooperative migration management by: - Promoting a secure and efficient border that facilitates the legal movement of people and goods, and deters unauthorized migration and smuggling, thereby helping both countries increase security and reduce crime and violence along the border, while still benefiting from the high volume of lawful crossings. - Enhancing Mexican governmental efforts to reduce the cost of remitting money to Mexico and increasing the economic development impacts of savings remitted by Mexicans in the US, as well as better targeting family planning and antipoverty programmes in migrant areas of origin. - Experimenting with pilot guest worker programmes to allow currently employed unauthorized Mexican workers to obtain legal work permits, and to include economic instruments that encourage returns and spur development in these pilot programmes.