Return Migration to Mexico

Abstract

This chapter provides a comprehensive examination of return migration to Mexico during the twenty-first century. Our discussion is organized around three axes: the concept of return migration, the heterogeneity of the returning flow, and how return migrants experience the process of incorporation into Mexico. Its objective is to provide a systematic and critical revision of major findings from diverse disciplines regarding return migration in Mexico. The starting point for understanding return migration in modern Mexico requires reviewing traditional conceptualizations of this phenomenon as a “return to the origin” and as the final stage of the migration journey. When studying Mexico within the context of Latin America, we find that current returning flows have several complex causes. Therefore, we prioritize analyzing the heterogeneity of the migratory flow: we take into consideration demographic patterns and changes and examine sociodemographic characteristics among returnees, such as gender, age, and educational profile. We also discuss the implications of different types of return migration—voluntary or forced, individual or family journeys—and assess different findings of the return migration literature regarding the integration of returning migrants. This chapter contributes to migration scholarship through its analysis of regulatory frameworks designed by Mexico's federal government to respond to the needs of its returnee population. We contrast these government-designed policies with recent studies about the economic, social, and educational incorporation of returnees in the twenty-first century.