Crossing the border : research from the Mexican Migration Project /

The Mexican Migration Project is a binational collaborative research project between social scientists based in Mexico and the US to collect detailed information on Mexican migrants to the US. The goal is to replace myths, speculation, fear, and ideologically based perceptions with massive facts and data. These statistics form the bases for the 15 analytical (quantitative and qualitative) essays gathered here, resulting in an indispensable reference work for anyone interested in the topic. The results both dispel and confirm received wisdom and assumptions while revealing some startling new facts: e.g., Mexican migrants do not come from the poorest and most desperate sectors of Mexican society, most do not intend to stay in the US permanently, they pay taxes, and they do not overaccess US social services. Most significant for public policy is the finding that heightened border patrols and surveillance have not stemmed the tide of Mexican migrants, and are thus an ineffective control mechanism. Unfortunately, this determined effort to set the record straight may do little to deter influential US opinion makers such as Samuel Huntington of Harvard (Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity, 2004) or CNN financial news commentator Lou Dobbs, who propagate their 21st-century versions of anti-Mexican nativism. ^BSumming Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above. E. Hu-DeHart Brown University