Mexican Migration and the U.S. Economic Crisis. A Transnational Perspective (review)

The recently published book Mexican Migration and the U.S.Economic Crisis. A Transnational Perspective aims at understanding how economic shocks, such as the one that took place in 2008, affect population movements. Specifically, the different articles address the question of how people were faring on the ground in both the sending and receiving communities. The book edited by Wayne Cornelius, David Fitzgerald, Pedro Lewin-Fischer and Leah Muse-Orlinoff, is the result of the research conducted in 2008-2009 by the members of the CCIS Mexican Migration Field Research and Training Program in Tunkas, Yucatan, and its satellite communities in Southern California. Considering the topics that the different articles address and their guiding questions, this edited volume is without doubt a contribution to the field of migration studies mainly because they are set in the context of the current global economic crisis, the reduction of migrant remittances, stagnation in the number of Mexicans in the United States, and declining numbers in apprehensions. The different chapters focus on issues of labor market, strategies to cope with the economic situation, education and culture of migration, nutrition and health issues, family dynamics and community participation, as well as U.S. and border enforcement policies.

Among the main findings is the fact that the economic shock did not produce a significant amount of reverse migration, a conclusion that countered a widespread version in the media that the economic crisis was going to cause a high volume of it. The editors explain that the prevailing media use of this narrative incited them to conduct this team research to either give it factual content or disprove it. The chapters that focus on migration dynamics in connection with the crisis and or immigration enforcement are the ones that provide a better rendition of the strategies developed by Tunkaseños (Tunka natives) to face the new critical times. One of the results researchers encountered was that Tunkaseños, whether documented or not, opted to remain where they were when the economic crisis happened. For those living in Mexico, internal migration appeared as the best answer to their problems as it did not represent a great initial expense or debt, did not mean long periods away from the family and, even more, did not implicate issues that confronted them with the law. Another interesting finding was the fact that, even though families received less remittances, income reduction was not as significant because of the variation in the exchange rate, which benefited those in Tunkas.

Tunkaseños living in the United States decided to stay and ride out the crisis by getting a second job, reducing expenses and/or relying on their tightly knit social network for support. Returning to Mexico was also not a possibility because it would have meant an extra burden on their families, as well as the loss of remittances. Likewise, the higher costs associated with migration and a harsher immigration regime became a deterrent for their return to Mexico. Chapter 3 shows, as other studies have demonstrated, that contemporary immigration policy in the United States has been ineffective in reducing unauthorized migration. In contrast, it has "bottled-up undocumented migrants in the U.S., fueled the people smuggling industry, and has contributed directly to the death of thousands of migrants trying to enter the U.S." (39).

A very significant aspect of this book is that it reflects the results of a long-term study and it demonstrates the pertinence of using a transnational approach, which means always keeping a multilayered vision. The bulk of the studies give detailed content of how Tunkaseños live and construct their transnational social space amid a global economic crisis and stricter immigration enforcement policies. The researchers use of the transnational perspective by studying one migration case in its different facets, a study sustained...