History and Trends in U.S. Bound Migration from a Mexican Town

Abstract

This article examines historical trends in U.S. bound migration from a rural Mexican town. The data consist of detailed migration histories collected for all town residents in 1978. From these histories, successive migrant cohorts were constructed for the period 1940–1978. Analysis of these cohorts indicates that prior to 1965, migration was limited primarily to males working in the United States as braceros. Since 1965, migration has been characterized by the increased participation of women and children, and by the growing predominance of legal U.S. residents among migrants. Trends in the size and composition of migrant cohorts over the thirty-eight year period are related to shifting U.S. immigration policies.