Wayne A. Cornelius

Controlling immigration: a global perspective.

This book reports the work of an interdisciplinary research team of immigration specialists based in the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California San Diego from 1990 through 1993....[It] is a systematic comparative study of immigration policy and policy outcomes in nine industrialized democracies: the United States Canada Britain France Germany Belgium Italy Spain and Japan. The book has two interrelated hypotheses. The first is that there is a growing similarity among the industrialized labor-importing countries as regards policy policy effectiveness immigrant assimilation and public reactions to immigration; and the second is that the growing gap between the goals of immigration policy and the actual results of such policies is also common to these countries. (EXCERPT)

Interviewing undocumented immigrants : methodological reflections based on fieldwork in Mexico and the U.S.

This article discusses data collection methods and basic issues of research strategy in field studies of unapprehended illegal immigrants living in the United States. It suggests ways to increase the reliability and validity of interview responses. Necessary modifications in format and style of interviews are described. An annotated bibiliography of recent field studies of undocumented immigrants is provided.

Mexican migration to the United States

In this essay the author questions the view that Mexican immigration into the United States could be reduced significantly by government action and describes the limits to intervention by the U.S. government in this area. He also describes the social context in which Mexican migration occurs its role in the U.S. economy and how it has become institutionalized over time. (ANNOTATION)

Differential Effects of Migration and Deportation on HIV Infection among Male and Female Injection Drug Users in Tijuana, Mexico

HIV prevalence is rising, especially among high risk females in Tijuana, Baja California, a Mexico-US border city situated on major migration and drug trafficking routes. We compared factors associated with HIV infection among male and female injection drug users (IDUs) in Tijuana in an effort to inform HIV prevention and treatment programs. IDUs aged ≥18 years were recruited using respondent-driven sampling and underwent testing for HIV, syphilis and structured interviews. Logistic regression identified correlates of HIV infection, stratified by gender. Among 1056 IDUs, most were Mexican-born but 67% were born outside Tijuana. Reasons for moving to Tijuana included deportation from the US (56% for males, 29% for females), and looking for work/better life (34% for females, 15% for males). HIV prevalence was higher in females versus males (10.2% vs. 3.5%, p = 0.001). Among females (N = 158), factors independently associated with higher HIV prevalence included younger age, lifetime syphilis infection and living in Tijuana for longer durations. Among males (N = 898), factors independently associated with higher HIV prevalence were syphilis titers consistent with active infection, being arrested for having ‘track-marks’, having larger numbers of recent injection partners and living in Tijuana for shorter durations. An interaction between gender and number of years lived in Tijuana regressed on HIV infection was significant (p = 0.03). Upon further analysis, deportation from the U.S. explained the association between shorter duration lived in Tijuana and HIV infection among males; odds of HIV infection were four-fold higher among male injectors deported from the US, compared to other males, adjusting for all other significant correlates (p = 0.002). Geographic mobility has a profound influence on Tijuanas evolving HIV epidemic, and its impact is significantly modified by gender. Future studies are needed to elucidate the context of mobility and HIV acquisition in this region, and whether US immigration policies adversely affect HIV risk.

The transformation of rural Mexico : reforming the ejido sector

Mexicos rural reforms of the early 1990s were designed to bring corn growers and other largely subsistence farmers into the cultivation of crops with appeal in global markets. This was to be accomplished through the reduction and eventual elimination of subsidies and guarantee prices to basic crops and a relaxation of tenure constraints on ejido land. Contributors to this anthology give us a close look at how the reforms have operated in fact, and how the approximately 25 million Mexicans still living in the countryside (about one-quarter of the nations population) are responding to the ending of Mexicos 50-year experiment with communal land.

Mexican immigrants and the utilization of U.S. health services: The case of San Diego

This paper examines survey data gathered from 2103 Mexican immigrants living or working in San Diego County, California, in order to explore four fundamental questions concerning the utilization of health services: (a) What type of health services do Mexican immigrants use? (b) When hospitals are used, do they tend to be emergency room services? (c) Do Mexican immigrants use preventive services? (d) To what extent do the utilization patterns of undocumented immigrants differ from their legally-immigrated counterparts? The socioeconomic profile of the sample is characterized through analysis of variables such as sex, age, length of residence in the U.S., occupation and income. Mexican immigrants, particularly the undocumented, are relatively young compared to the non-immigrant population, of short duration in the U.S. and earn low income. In addition, undocumented and legally-immigrated respondents are covered by medical insurance at rates far below the general population. Mexican immigrants, including the undocumented, use a variety of health services. Hospital services are not the primary source of care. However, when undocumented respondents did use hospital services, they were more likely to use emergency room care than their legally-immigrated counterparts, who were more likely to use out-patient services. Finally, undocumented respondents tended to neglect preventive services as evidenced by examination of the use of pre-natal care, general check-ups and dental services.

Associations between Migrant status and sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico

Objective: To examine associations between migration and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence among Mexican female sex workers (FSW). Methods: FSW aged 18 years and older in Tijuana, Baja California (BC) underwent interviews and testing for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia. Multivariate logistic regressions identified correlates of STI. Results: Of 471 FSW, 79% were migrants to BC. Among migrant FSW, prevalence of HIV, syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and any STI was 6.6%, 13.2%, 7.8%, 16.3% and 31.1% compared with 10.9%, 18.2%, 13.0%, 19.0% and 42.4% among FSW born in BC. A greater proportion of migrant FSW were registered with local health services and were ever tested for HIV. Migrant status was protective for any STI in unadjusted models (unadjusted odds ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.97). In multivariate models controlling for confounders, migrant status was not associated with an elevated odds of STI acquisition and trended towards a protective association. Conclusions: Unexpectedly, migrant status (vs native-born status) appeared protective for any STI acquisition. It is unclear which social or economic conditions may protect against STI and whether these erode over time in migrants. Additional research is needed to inform our understanding of whether or how geography, variations in health capital, or social network composition and information-sharing attributes can contribute to health protective behaviours in migrant FSW. By capitalising on such mechanisms, efforts to preserve protective health behaviours in migrant FSW will help control STI in the population and may lead to the identification of strategies that are generalisable to other FSW.

A Qualitative View of Drug Use Behaviors of Mexican Male Injection Drug Users Deported from the United States

Deportees are a hidden yet highly vulnerable and numerous population. Significantly, little data exists about the substance use and deportation experiences of Mexicans deported from the United States. This pilot qualitative study describes illicit drug use behaviors among 24 Mexico-born male injection drug users (IDUs), ≥18 years old, residing in Tijuana, Mexico who self-identified as deportees from the United States. In-person interviews were conducted in Tijuana, Mexico in 2008. Content analysis of interview transcripts identified major themes in participants’ experiences. Few participants had personal or family exposures to illicit drugs prior to their first U.S. migration. Participants reported numerous deportations. Social (i.e., friends/family, post-migration stressors) and environmental factors (e.g., drug availability) were perceived to contribute to substance use initiation in the U.S. Drugs consumed in the United States included marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and crack. More than half of men were IDUs prior to deportation. Addiction and justice system experiences reportedly contributed to deportation. After deportation, several men injected new drugs, primarily heroin or methamphetamine, or a combination of both drugs. Many men perceived an increase in their substance use after deportation and reported shame and loss of familial social and economic support. Early intervention is needed to stem illicit drug use in Mexican migrant youths. Binational cooperation around migrant health issues is warranted. Migrant-oriented programs may expand components that address mental health and drug use behaviors in an effort to reduce transmission of blood-borne infections. Special considerations are merited for substance users in correctional systems in the United States and Mexico, as well as substance users in United States immigration detention centers. The health status and health behaviors of deportees are likely to impact receiving Mexican communities. Programs that address health, social, and economic issues may aid deportees in resettling in Mexico.

The Uncertain Connection: Free Trade and Rural Mexican Migration to the United States

Will a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) decrease Mexican migration to the United States, as the U.S. and Mexican governments assert, or increase migration beyond the movement that would otherwise occur, as NAFTA critics allege? This article argues that it is easy to overestimate the additional emigration from rural Mexico owing to NAFTA-related economic restructuring in Mexico. The available evidence suggests four major reasons why Mexican emigration may not increase massively, despite extensive restructuring and displacement from traditional agriculture. First, many rural dwellers in Mexico already have diversified their sources of income, making them less dependent on income earned from producing agricultural commodities like corn that will be most affected by NAFTA. Second, a free trade zone might induce more U.S. agricultural producers to expand in Mexico during the 1990s, creating additional jobs there instead of in the United States. Third, the links between internal migration in Mexico and emigration from Mexico are not as direct as is often assumed; even if economic restructuring increases internal population movements in Mexico, this may not translate into a great deal of international emigration. Finally, European experience teaches that free trade and economic integration can be phased-in in a manner which does not produce significant emigration, even under a freedom of movement regime. NAFTA-related economic displacement in Mexico may yield an initial wave of migration to test the U.S. labor market, but this migration should soon diminish if the jobs that these migrants seek shift to Mexico.

The Political Economy of Mexico under De la Madrid: Austerity, Routinized Crisis, and Nascent Recovery

Este articulo describe y analiza la estructura politica de la administracion del Presidente Miguel de la Madrid en respuesta a la crisis economica de los 80 en Mexico. La estrategia economica y politica de la administracion para el periodo de 1984 hasta 1988 es presentada en terminos de los resultados obtenidos hasta la fecha y las restricciones externas. Se analizan las posibilidades para la paz social, la recuperacion economica, y la estabilidad politica en Mexico.