The Social Organization of Mexican Migration to the United States

Abstract

Migration between Mexico and the United States is supported by social networks that link sending communities with specific work sites in the United States. This article uses a combination of ethnographic and survey methods to study how these networks develop and how they facilitate the migrant enterprise. Migrant networks are based on the bonds of kinship, friendship, and paisanaje, which are reinforced through frequent contact in voluntary organizations. Over time, as networks develop and mature, migration becomes self-sustaining. The maturation of migrant networks in western Mexico after 1965 helps to explain the sharp rise in Mexican migration to the United States during the 1970s.