Mexico’s trend as a receiving country for migrants begins

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Mexico registers immigration, that is, the arrival of people from other countries of between two and five percent, but the trend will see a big increase in coming years

Faced with a combination of factors such as border closure policies, Mexico is becoming a receiving country for migrants, mostly from the Americas, and is ceasing to be an expeller due to an increase in the age of its population.

Marianne Marchand, especialista en Relaciones Internacionales. (Especial)
Marianne Marchand

According to the analysis “Migration: Challenges and realities”, carried out by the specialist in International Relations of the University of the Americas Puebla (Udlap), Marianne Marchand, Mexico registers immigration, that is, the arrival of people from other countries among two and five percent, but the trend will be an increase in the coming years.

“In the case of Mexico, it only has between two and five percent, which leads us to see that Mexico is still not a very immigration country; But this is about to change because the emigration of Mexicans, in particular to the United States, has dropped and there are many people who have returned, but they are also already receiving more immigration, ”the specialist highlighted.

México se convierte en el mayor receptor de migrantes

The member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) level III of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt), highlighted that North America, in particular, the United States and Canada, has 59 million migrants.

“The United Nations Organization shows that currently, 3.5 percent of the world’s population are migrants, representing 272 million people. It is very interesting to know the regions with the most immigrants, finding that Europe has 82 million people; North America, particularly Canada and the United States, have 59 million; and North Africa and Western Asia have 49 million ”, he pointed out.

In the past, the majority of migrants were men; However, at present, 48 percent of those looking for a better place to live in another country are women and 14 percent are under 20 years of age

“A noteworthy fact of these figures is that of the total number of migrants, 48 ​​percent are women. Of the 272 million, more or less, 14 percent of the migrants are young people under 20 years of age. What has increased a lot are forcibly displaced persons, reaching the figure of 79.5 million, that is to say, those who, for political reasons, violence or war, have to flee their country enter this category; here it should be noted that between 30 and 40 million are minors ”, expressed the academic UDLAP.

The main difference between human mobility and migration is that the latter is a relatively recent phenomenon because it took place just over two centuries ago as a consequence of the emergence of nation-states and borders.

“In other words, international migration cannot exist without borders and states, this is the difference between human mobility and international migration,” explained Marianne Marchand.

Currently, there is a high migration to North America, Canada, and the United States; while, in the Latin American context, Chile has a higher degree of migration; a phenomenon that occurs in Western North Europe; and in the context of Asia and the Pacific, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Australia stand out.

The first thing we have noticed is the closing of borders, thus complicating regular and irregular mobility. You also hear about the arrests and deportations of migrants without proof or protection measures; migrants are in a vulnerable situation in terms of housing, access to health services, little telework, and xenophobia ”, she concluded.

Finding the American Dream is now in Mexico

Over one million Americans established temporary or permanent residency here in Mexico. That makes Mexico the host nation for the largest American expatriate community in the world. There are now more Americans living in Mexico than there are in the U.K. or Canada.

his is confirmed by recruiters and global relocation firms. “Mexico is supposed to be gearing up for a great year right now,” Annie Levy Sandin, of Emerging Globe Group, a recruiting firm.

That Americans are moving to Mexico is nothing new, but the kinds of Americans who are establishing themselves have changed.

“For decades you’ve had three kinds of Americans coming here,” said Ramon Segura, an importer-exporter with decades of experience working with foreign nationals.

“Foremost are the retirees, who can have a higher standard of living in Mexico than they could in the U.S. Then there were the professionals who were sent here by their companies or were here on business. And of course, there were those trying to make a clean break from their pasts – usually men escaping alimony, child support, business failures or the country that sent them to Vietnam.”

But now there are two other kinds of Americans moving to Mexico: those who are starting or raising families and entrepreneurs seeking greater opportunities.

Expats in Merida

The number of Americans and Canadians relocating to Mexico is resulting is peculiar developments. In Merida, for instance, there are enough newcomers to justify an English-language lending library — The Merida English Language Library, is affectionately known as “MELL,” and is also a member of the American Library Association.

John Rogers, a movie executive, has become the unofficial spokesman for the American expatriate community in Merida. Featured in the Los Angeles Times, he is quick to point out the distorted image the American media paints of the violence in Mexico.

“Although the mainstream media would have you believe that all of Mexico is on the verge of a violent drug-fueled meltdown, the areas affected by those unfortunate problems are far from where we live, and are mostly restricted to those in the drug trade, or those directly combating them,” he said. “To get swept up in any of the problems it seems you’d have to go out of your way to get involved or to travel into the cities that are afflicted – not likely if you have any common sense.”

The new sentiment of the Americans making their home to Mexico this way: “I never would have thought that to live out the American Dream I’d have to move to Mexico, but there it is!”

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