The Settlement Process Among Mexican Migrants to the United States

This report examines the process of integration and settlement among Mexican migrants to the United States using data specially collected from four Mexican sending communities. These data indicate that as migrants accumulate experience in the United States social and economic ties are formed which progressively increase the likelihood of U.S. settlement. Over time migrants bring family members abroad make new friends establish institutional connections and obtain more stable better paying jobs. As a result less money is remitted home to Mexico and more is spent in the United States. These trends give rise to a steady cumulative increase in the probability of U.S. settlement. (EXCERPT)