introduction & background

1980s

undocumented farm workers

 

US

maquiladoras

55% manufacturing

45% exports

34% imports

21% FDI

(in 2006)

theory

Pries (2004) has advanced a typology to differentiate types of migrants, and used it to analyze Mexicans travelling from Mexico City to New York to work:

1. emigrants or immigrants
2. the return migrant
3. the recurrent migrant
4. the diaspora migrant
5. the transnational migrant

farm workers

• Agricultural workers: recurrent migrants

• Their home towns often had high  proportions of migratory males

• Several single male farm worker marry US nationals or permanent residents and become immigrants 

• married men with families in Mexico were small enough to support on their US wages

• In comparison to maquila workers,  maquila workers were less likely to migrate simply because they had paid work. 

• Agricultural workers tended to originate in the interior of Mexico and they crossed the border less often and did not stop in border cities

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maquila production workers

situation

• Large: Production workers comprise approximately three-quarters of maquila labour forces (Hualde 2007).
• Visa: Maquiladoras are a key factor in the acquisition of documents(Border Crossing Card, Laser Visa, or Tourist Visa) to enter the US legally. For instance, many maquiladoras in Baja California are large and have administrations that can generate statements.
• Limitation: In order to acquire the document and to renew it when expired, Mexicans are required to show that they are sufficiently anchored in their homeland.
• Reality:                                                         a. One citizens get documents sometimes they quit jobs to commute to work in the US. They are tend to change their job.                            b. Basically, they work as live-in maids, babysitters, carpenters, construction workers, etc.                                                                      c. Illegal immigrant by hiking. After 9/11/2001, border security increased, causing much longer waiting time to cross. 

border

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Why workers want to immigrant?

• Get more pay than agriculture.
• Like a Tijuana maquila worker who making TV components said “Many people look for work there in maquilas, but it’s not for the money. It’s because it’s light work and they get services, like a doctor, insurance, free cafeteria, bonuses and coupons for grocery stores.”
• US employers often provided housing, food, and transportation costs which migrants would otherwise have to pay themselves if they were in Mexico.
• Although female maquila workers tended to become immigrants less than their male counterparts(Kopinak, et al. 2013). Women become immigrants in the US because of greater gender equality.

In total, This new type of migrants are differ greatly from traditional agricultural migrant. These new migrants fit the recurrent ideal type of migration and are often commuters, with a tendency to then become immigrants. The emergence of the finding of the commuter subtype addresses the need in migration studies expressed recently by Mize and Swords (2011, 186)

high skilled maquila personnel

• less salary
• highly skilled 
• migrate to progress professional career    - local company                                        - multinational company

return migration

• Plan to return home after retiring
• Women workers and men workers
• Negative experiences
• Source of finance