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Immigrants in Their Parental Homeland: Half a Million U.S.-born Minors Settle Throughout Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Claudia Masferrer

    (El Colegio de México)

  • Erin R. Hamilton

    (University of California, Davis)

  • Nicole Denier

    (University of Alberta)

Abstract

In the past 10 years, a historical change occurred in migration flows within North America: specifically, Mexico–U.S. migration reached zero net migration. Alongside Mexican adults returning to their homeland was an unprecedented number of U.S.-born minors. Little is known about this massive migration of U.S. citizen children. We analyze Mexican census data from 2000 to 2015 to estimate the size and characteristics of the population of U.S.-born minors residing in Mexico. Between 2000 and 2010, the population of U.S.-born minors doubled to more than half a million. The population stabilized, aged, and became longer-term Mexican residents thereafter. The large majority of U.S.-born minors are primary school–aged. Although concentrated in the northern border and traditional migrant-sending regions, U.S.-born minors are distributed throughout Mexico. The majority of U.S.-born minors live in Mexico with two Mexican-born parents, but one-third are separated from one or both parents, and most of those separated from parents reside with grandparents. We interpret these trends in reference to the determinants of Mexico–U.S. migration, transnational and mixed-status families, and the future spatial and social mobility of U.S.-born minors living in Mexico.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Masferrer & Erin R. Hamilton & Nicole Denier, 2019. "Immigrants in Their Parental Homeland: Half a Million U.S.-born Minors Settle Throughout Mexico," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1453-1461, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:56:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s13524-019-00788-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-019-00788-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fernando Riosmena & Douglas S. Massey, 2012. "Pathways to El Norte: Origins, Destinations, and Characteristics of Mexican Migrants to the United States," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 3-36, March.
    2. Claudia Masferrer & Bryan Roberts, 2012. "Going Back Home? Changing Demography and Geography of Mexican Return Migration," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 31(4), pages 465-496, August.
    3. Jenna Nobles, 2013. "Migration and Father Absence: Shifting Family Structure in Mexico," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(4), pages 1303-1314, August.
    4. Andrés Villarreal, 2014. "Explaining the Decline in Mexico-U.S. Migration: The Effect of the Great Recession," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(6), pages 2203-2228, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Janna E. Johnson, 2022. "Does the Census Miss the Native-Born Children of Immigrant Mothers? Evidence from State-Level Undercount by Race and Hispanic Status," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 139-195, February.
    2. Erin R. Hamilton & Maryann Bylander, 2021. "The Migration of Children from Mexico to the USA in the Early 2000s," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(3), pages 337-361, June.
    3. Juan Manuel Pedroza, 2022. "Housing Instability in an Era of Mass Deportations," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(6), pages 2645-2681, December.
    4. Nathan I. Hoffmann, 2024. "Strangers in the Homeland? The Academic Performance of U.S.-Born Children of Return Migrants in Mexico," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(3), pages 1-25, June.
    5. Erin R. Hamilton & Po‐Chun Huang, 2020. "Contextualizing Mexican Migrant Education Selectivity," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 46(3), pages 603-616, September.
    6. Susana M. Quiros & William P. O’Hare, 2024. "Towards a More Accurate Count: Identifying State-Level Predictors of the Undercount of Young Hispanic Children in the 2010 and 2020 U.S. Censuses," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(6), pages 1-27, December.
    7. Johana Navarrete-Suárez & Claudia Masferrer, 2022. "Economic Integration of Afro–Latin American Immigrants in Mexico," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(5), pages 1873-1892, October.
    8. Tania Varona & Claudia Masferrer & Victoria Prieto Rosas & Martín Pedemonte, 2024. "Which definition of migration better fits Facebook ‘expats’? A response using Mexican census data," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 50(39), pages 1171-1184.
    9. Nicole Denier & Claudia Masferrer, 2020. "Returning to a New Mexican Labor Market? Regional Variation in the Economic Incorporation of Return Migrants from the U.S. to Mexico," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(4), pages 617-641, August.
    10. Erin R. Hamilton & Claudia Masferrer & Paola Langer, 2023. "U.S. Citizen Children De Facto Deported to Mexico," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 49(1), pages 175-203, March.

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