The need to understand Mexico – U.S. migration is greater today than at any time in its century long history. Its volume and complexity are greater than most observers might have imagined even a decade ago; and it operates in a context charged with serious new human, political, and security challenges. Yet, there is often confusion over the most fundamental questions about the demography, economics, and political nature of the movement. What are reliable estimates of the number of migrants, their legal status, and their rate of circulation? What role do Mexican migrants play in the U.S. labor force, today and tomorrow? What is the context that drives policymaking, either unilateral or bilateral, in Mexico and the United States? And how might the migration best be managed in a balanced and bilateral manner? Too much of our understanding derives from dated analysis or the viewpoints of experts on one side of the border or the other.

This report addresses the need for a balanced, up-to-date assessment. Its analysis draws on the most recent data and knowledge from both countries. The report has been prepared by a group of experts on migration from the United States and Mexico. It summarizes studies undertaken by those individuals with input from the collective team, such that the findings presented here reflect a view arising from a multidisciplinary, binational perspective.