The number of Mexican-born immigrants to the United States has increased significantly over time, although the number has begun to decrease in recent years. In 2023, there were over 10.91 million Mexican-born immigrants in the U.S., although this is a decrease from the peak of 11.7 million in 2010.

The statistic shows the development of jobs held by Mexican immigrants in the U.S. between Q2 2008 and Q2 2010 by economic sector. The number of jobs held by mexican immigrants in the information sector increased by 26,000 during this period.

This statistic shows the proportion of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. in 2007, by state of residence. In 2007, 39.5 percent of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. resided in California.

This timeline shows the number of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. between 2000 and 2007. In 2007, there were 11.8 million Mexican immigrants residing in the U.S.

Using historical data on the size of state-specific Mexican birth cohorts and geographic migration networks between Mexican states and US metropolitan areas, I construct an instrumental variable that predicts decadal migration from Mexico to the United States. The intuition behind this identification strategy is that larger historical birth cohorts in Mexico yield more potential migrants once each birth cohort reaches prime migration age. I report evidence that Mexican immigration is associated with a decline in property crimes and an increase in aggravated assaults. The available evidence suggests that this is not an artifact of reduced crime reporting among immigrants.

This statistic shows the number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants in the United States from 1990 to 2014. As of 2014, 5.85 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States were from Mexico.

This data package includes the underlying data and files to replicate the calculations, charts, and tables presented in The Economic Benefits of Latino Immigration: How the Migrant Hispanic Population’s Demographic Characteristics Contribute to US Growth, PIIE Working Paper 19-3.

If you use the data, please cite as: Huertas, Gonzalo, and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard. (2019). The Economic Benefits of Latino Immigration: How the Migrant Hispanic Population’s Demographic Characteristics Contribute to US Growth. PIIE Working Paper 19-3. Peterson Institute for International Economics.

ObjectiveThis paper describes the impact that the different COVID-19 related restrictions have had on the mental health and wellbeing of 57 Central American and Caribbean immigrants stranded in Mexico due to the pandemic.MethodsEthnographic data was obtained through the application of in-depth interviews centered on topics such as migration history, personal experience with COVID-19 and beliefs about the pandemic. This information was further analyzed through a narrative approach and Atlas Ti.Main findingsUS Title 42 and the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) have stranded thousands of individuals in the US-Mexico border region, a situation that has overcrowded the available shelters in the area and forced many of the immigrants to live on the streets and in improvised encampments. Thus, exposing them to a higher risk of contagion. Furthermore, the majority of the interviewed Central American and Caribbean immigrants consider that Mexico is more lenient when it comes to the enforcement of sanitary measures, especially when compared to their countries of origin. Finally, vaccination hesitancy was low among the interviewees, mainly due to the operative aspects of the vaccination effort in Mexico and the fear of ruining their chances to attain asylum in the US. These findings are backed up by the discovery of five recurring narratives among the interviewees regarding: (1) The pandemic's psychological impact. (2) The uncertainty of being stranded in Mexico and the long wait. (3) Their fear of violence over the fear of contagion. (4) The perceived leniency of Mexico with the pandemic when compared to their countries of origin, and (5) their beliefs about the pandemic and vaccines.Key findingThe mental health of stranded Central American and Caribbean immigrants in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic is mostly affected by their inability to make it across the US-Mexico border using legal means.

This statistic shows the population born in Mexico residing in the U.S. between year 1994 and year 2009 by education level. In 2009, about 5.8 million Mexicans residing in the U.S. had an educational attainment of less than 10 grades of school education.

This study was designed to systematically examine the similarities and differences of experience among four groups of adolescents: Mexicans (born of Mexican parents and residing in Mexico), Mexican immigrants (born of Mexican parents in Mexico and now residing in the United States), second-generation Mexican Americans (born and raised in the United States of Mexican immigrant parents), and White Americans (born and raised in the United States of white, non-Hispanic, U.S.-born parents). Specifically, the study explores how family orientation (i.e., familism and family conflict) and achievement orientation differ among these groups. The participants were 189 adolescents (96 girls and 93 boys) between the ages of 13 and 18 who were attending public middle and high schools. The participants were equally divided among the four groups. Data for the Mexican sample were gathered in 1991 and 1992 in Guanajuato, one of three Mexican states from which a majority of emigrants to the United States originate. Data for the other three groups were gathered in 1992 from public schools in California. The data collection methods consisted of classroom observations, ethnographic interviews, and tests which were conducted in either English, Spanish, or both according to the students' preference and proficiency. The interviews covered demographic, life-history, and migration-related information as well as issues related to their experiences at school and with their families and peers. The interview included a number of psychological tests: Familism Scale (Sabogal et al.,1987), Family Conflict Scale (Beavers, Hampson, and Hulgus, 1985), Sentence Completion Test (De Vos, 1973), Problem Situation Test (De Vos, 1973), and Thematic Apperception Tests (Murray, 1943). The Murray Research Archive holds the completed interview booklets as well as audiotapes of interviews. A follow-up of the study is possible with the collaboration of the contributor. Audio Data Availability Note: This study contains audio data that have been digitized. There are 284 audio files available.

Emigration rates for border crossers during the 1990s.

The statistic shows the number of jobs held by native born Mexicans and Mexican immigrants in the U.S. in 2010 by economic sector. In the second quarter 2010, about 256,000 native born Mexicans were employed in the information sector.

This article reviews evidence on the labor market performance of Hispanics in the United States, with a particular focus on the US-born segment of this population. After discussing critical issues that arise in the US data sources commonly used to study Hispanics, we document how Hispanics currently compare with other Americans in terms of education, earnings, and labor supply, and then we discuss long-term trends in these outcomes. Relative to non-Hispanic Whites, US-born Hispanics from most national origin groups possess sizeable deficits in earnings, which in large part reflect corresponding educational deficits. Over time, rates of high school completion by US-born Hispanics have almost converged to those of non-Hispanic Whites, but the large Hispanic deficits in college completion have instead widened. Finally, from the perspective of immigrant generations, Hispanics experience substantial improvements in education and earnings between first-generation immigrants and the second-generation consisting of the US-born children of immigrants. Continued progress beyond the second generation is obscured by measurement issues arising from high rates of Hispanic intermarriage and the fact that later-generation descendants of Hispanic immigrants often do not self-identify as Hispanic when they come from families with mixed ethnic origins.

Immigration to this country has increased significantly in recent years. While Mexican immigrants are the largest population of immigrants in the United States (39 percent), the rest of the population is widely varied, with no one nation accounting for more than 3 percent of all immigrants. Despite the significant benefits quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs offer to immigrant children, their rates of enrollment are significantly lower than for comparable children of United States-born parents. In order to better address the needs of these new American families, providers and state policymakers need more in-depth knowledge about the perceptions of these families and the factors that influence their choice of care. This study is an exploratory study in two cities which reflect the diversity of experience with immigration across the country: Denver, Colorado and surrounding areas, where the focus is on Mexican immigrants, and Portland, Maine and surrounding areas, where the focus is on three of the many refugee populations which have newly settled here. The contrasts, not only in the immigrant populations themselves, but also in the political and historical contexts of the communities in which they live, offer an opportunity to enrich the field of research on child care choices for this vulnerable population of children and families.Additional details about this study can be found on the New Americans Web site.

Unauthorized population estimates for 1990, 2000, and 2014.

Projected Population by Single Year of Age, Sex, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Nativity for the United States: 2016-2060 // Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division // There are four projection scenarios: 1. Main series, 2. High Immigration series, 3. Low Immigration series, and 4. Zero Immigration series. // Note: Hispanic origin is considered an ethnicity, not a race. Hispanics may be of any race. // For detailed information about the methods used to create the population projections, see https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj/technical-documentation/methodology/methodstatement17.pdf. // Population projections are estimates of the population for future dates. They are typically based on an estimated population consistent with the most recent decennial census and are produced using the cohort-component method. Projections illustrate possible courses of population change based on assumptions about future births, deaths, net international migration, and domestic migration. The Population Estimates and Projections Program provides additional information on its website: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj.html.

The share of immigrants to the United States who are Mexican-born has been on the rise since 1950, although it has declined in recent years. In 2023, 22.8 percent of all immigrants to the U.S. were Mexican-born. This is a decrease from a high of 29.5 percent in 2000.

Prior research indicates the enforcement of immigration policy by the host country affects immigrants’ political behavior. Yet, its effect on their economic behavior – namely, remittances – remains understudied. To fill this gap, we theorize on remittances’ political determinants in the host country. In general, we argue remittance flows vary with subnational enforcement of the host country’s immigration policy. In particular, immigrants insure themselves against deportation by remitting more in highly punitive locales. We test our theory in the context of the United States’ Secure Communities program, a nationwide policy involving local-federal partnerships to identify and deport undocumented immigrants. We expect greater remittance inflows to Mexican states with more deportees under the program. Instrumental variable analysis affirms our expectation. Mexican states with more deportees under Secure Communities receive significantly more remittances than other Mexican states. The analysis illuminates the indirect effects of host countries’ enforcement of their immigration policy.

IntroductionShortages of health professionals is a common problem in humanitarian settings, including among migrants and refugees at the US-Mexico border. We aimed to investigate determinants and recruitment recommendations for working with migrants to better understand how to improve health professional participation in humanitarian efforts.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with health professionals working with migrants at the US-Mexico border in Matamoros and Reynosa, Mexico. The study aimed to identify motivations, facilitators, barriers, and sacrifices to humanitarian work, and recommendations for effective learning approaches to increase participation. Participants included health professionals working within humanitarian organizations to deliver healthcare to migrants living in non-permanent encampments. Interviews lasted approximately 45 min and were analyzed in NVivo14 using a validated codebook and team-based methodology.ResultsAmong 27 participants, most were female (70%) with median age 32. Health professionals included nurses (41%), physicians (30%), logisticians (11%), social workers (7%), an EMT (4%), and a pharmacist (4%) from the US (59%), Mexico (22%), Cuba (11%), Peru (4%), and Nicaragua (4%) working for four organizations. Participants expressed internal motivations for working with migrants, including a desire to help vulnerable populations (78%), past experiences in humanitarianism (59%), and the need to address human suffering (56%). External facilitators included geographic proximity (33%), employer flexibility (30%), and logistical support (26%). Benefits included improved clinical skills (63%), sociocultural learning (63%), and impact for others (58%). Negative determinants included sacrifices such as career obligations (44%), family commitments (41%), and safety risks (41%), and barriers of limited education (44%) and volunteer opportunities (37%). Participants criticized aspects of humanitarian assistance for lower quality care, feeling useless, and minimizing local capacity. Recommendations to increase the health workforce caring for migrants included integration of humanitarian training for health students (67%), collaborations between health institutions and humanitarian organizations (52%), and improved logistical and mental health support (41%).ConclusionHealth professionals from diverse roles and countries identified common determinants to humanitarian work with migrants. Recommendations for recruitment reflected feasible and collaborative approaches for professionals, organizations, and trainees to pursue humanitarian health. These findings can be helpful in designing interventions to address workforce shortages in humanitarian migrant contexts.

The graph shows the distribution of Hispanic immigrants in the United States in 2018, by occupation and region of birth. In 2018, about 17.26 percent of Mexican immigrants were working in construction trades.