Presently around 11 million Mexicans live here -- 11% of Mexico's population. In 2007, these indinviduals sent home $23 billion, the country's second-largest source of foreign revenue after oil exports.
Castaneda notes that American support or lack thereof regarding Mexican migration appears to be based on during the economy. Mexican migrants may offer crucial reduced labor costs, but sentiment against migration and employment reduction back. "In this long historical process lies the reason why Mexicans in general see migration in a different light from Americans," writes Castaneda, "even well meaning ones, when the latter underline the imperative need for everybody to 'play by the rules.'" (2000, p. 37). Exactly what are those rules? Also, how can these rules keep on changing based on American needs, not Mexican? How can anyone respect the law, when they have been "American fiction'? Instead of this wishy washy policy, there needs to be a much stronger and clearer one that everyone can understand..
Such clarity will probably not be in the cards, since the sentiment of the typical person in the U.S. is in the "fearful" mode, angered that they see the number of Spanish-speaking individuals significantly increasing, the economy failing and trying to deal with its own increasing poverty let alone that of Mexico as well. As Castaneda stresses, however, the answer is not to only come...
Otherwise, it could be politically indefensible in Mexico. Whereas Mexico's nationalist leadership argues that the Mexican constitution does not allow a limit on freedom of movement, Castaneda replies that Mexico's Federal Population Law necessitates that people leave the country with correct papers from both Mexico and the country to which they are going, and through designated points of entrance/egress.
The belief that this pattern that has become integrated into the history of the two countries can be ended over night is impractical. When the U.S. once again needs the Mexicans either for labor or for support of a political or international cause, the whole process will expand once again. Unfortunately, it is the people who care about their children's well-being are the ones who suffer the most. As Castaneda says, "There is no such thing as a perfect immigration reform" (2008, p.193), but anything is better than status quo.
Castaneda, Jorge, G. Ex-Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants. New York: New Press, 2008.
