Debt Migration, Understanding its Origins and Pervasiveness, Under Review

Motivated by the rise in "indebted" migration, this project investigates where is debt migration originating in Mexico, what economic conditions are associated with rates of debt migration, and who is leveraging debt to fund their migration attempts. This study contributes to further understanding migration stratification processes and has implications for the production of inequality in sending and receiving communities. 

Findings:

1. Rates of indebted migration are highest among the southern most Mexican states. 
2. Indebtedness falls along lines of established stratification: unemployment, rurality, documentation status, and education. 
3. Access to financial institutions matters for rates of debt: 

• Access to informal financial institutions is associated with higher rates of indebted migrants
• Access to formal financial institutions is associated with lower rates of indebted migrants

• Poster presentation at the American Population Association annual meeting 2022, Poster Award

Disparities in immigration enforcement and deportation across communities have been evident—marked by geographic concentration, racial profiling, and gendered outcomes. Despite recognizing immigration raids as one of the most aggressive tactics within US immigration policy, their nature largely remains a black box. Therefor this study intends to shed light on the complex landscape of immigration raids, offering a thorough depiction of their prevalence, patterns, and the diverse impacts on communities, ultimately contributing to a more nuanced comprehension of immigration enforcement experiences in the United States. 

This research project aims to achieve two primary objectives:

1. Documenting the frequency and geographical distribution of immigration raids over time in the United States to provide a comprehensive understanding of their dynamics.
2. Unveiling the characteristics of communities affected by these raids, aiming to gain deeper insights into how various communities experience and cope with immigration enforcement practices within the United States.

• Oral Presentation at the Harvard Migration Workshop, Fall 2023

Through increased border enforcement, the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act changed US-Mexico migration flows. Motivated by the rise in utilization of coyotes and soaring coyote fees, I hypothesize that the burden of migration costs due to border enforcement is unequally distributed among migrants. 

I leverage the Mexican Migration Project data to operationalize migration cost through payments for human smuggling services. Implementing a Heckman  Model to correct for selection on coyote usage, this paper investigates: (1) how has coyote pricing changed in a post-IRCA era; (2) what role does demographic composition of migration flows and social networks play in explaining fees paid to coyotes; (3) what role does immigration enforcement play in explaining coyote payments; (4) how have the relationships between migration costs and human capital, social capital and enforcement changed post-1986? 

This paper quantitatively analyzes which type of migrants is most vulnerable to “indebted crossings”, a phenomenon recently exposed by qualitative research. This paper offers a first step towards addressing concerns of debt, wealth transfers and intergenerational inequality in Mexican sending communities. 

• Accepted for oral presentation at the American Population Association annual meeting 2020 
• Accepted for oral presentation Pew Research Center Conference on Global Unauthorized Immigration 2020
• Accepted for oral presentation at Understanding Inequalities Conference 2020 (ui2020)