Interpersonal Violence and its Association with US Migration Desires and Plans among Youths in Guanajuato, Mexico

The Migration of Children from Mexico to the United States in the early 2000's

Children comprise a significant share of immigrants around the world, yet scholarship has largely treated children as adult-like or adult-following actors in migration. We explore how the early life course and parents' migration structured children's migration from Mexico to the United States from 2002 to 2005, using the Mexican Family Life Survey, national survey data from Mexico that tracked 854 migrants, including 375 children, to the United States. We find that while parents' migration decisions matter at all ages, young children who migrate are nearly always accompanied by their parents, whereas the minority of adolescents are. Primary school-aged children and accompanied adolescents migrate in response to community violence and barriers to education, suggesting that their migration reflects concerns about where it is best to raise children. Adolescents who migrate without their parents do so in response to economic factors, much like adults; however, adolescents also respond to youth community migration prevalence, suggesting that youth-specific norms of migration frame their decision-making. The results show how the early life course structures three distinct profiles of child migration: complete dependents, children whose location choices reflect concerns about schools and safety, and near independents. More generally, the determinants and process of migration shift as parental oversight declines and social structures beyond the family-community violence, access to education, youth norms, gender, and labor markets-emerge as important.

Religiosity and Migration Aspirations among Mexican Youth

International migration has become an important topic of discussion from a policy and humanitarian perspective. Part of the debate includes a renewed interest in understanding the factors that influence decisions about migration to the US among Mexican youth still residing in their country of origin. The purpose of this study was to advance knowledge specifically about internal and external religiosity and their influence on youths' migration aspirations. The data for this study were collected in 2007 from students enrolled in an alternative high school program located in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The findings indicated that as external religiosity increases, the desire to work or live in the USA decreases. Furthermore, as internal religiosity increases, the desire to work or live in the USA and plans to migrate increase. The results are interpreted and discussed in light of previous research on religious and cultural norm adherence.