Mexico

to the USA

A Tale of Illegal Immigrants

- Has grown rapidly

since 1960 legal (1m

a year) and illegal
(0.5m a year)
- Border is 3000km
long, biggest in the
world

MEXICO TO THE USA MAIN ISSUES

Around 1,000,000 people a year are caught by
the United States Border Patrol trying to cross
the border. Many of these are repeat offenders.
Why do people try to cross the border illegally ?
What are the push factors ?
What are the pull factors ?
http://www.mazalien.com/michael-palins-fullcircle.html

What would make you risk a crossing ?

What do you think most Americans think of the
illegal aliens or pollos as they are called ?
Why are some people glad to see the illegal
immigrants?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4989248.st
m

Farming is not easy in many parts of Mexico. Here, soil erosion

by rain has ruined a farm in eastern Mexico

Most of the topsoil has been washed away fertility reduced by

75% - very difficult to farm

In drier parts, fields have been made unfarmable by wind erosion

of the soil

and it does not help when the wind deposits the soil again this
fence is 2 metres high

This is happening over a wide area in the drier parts near the
USA border.

Most farms are very small, divided between sons when the
farmer dies count the number of buildings, each one represents
a separate farm

a typical village in the Sierra Madre no piped water, sewerage

or electricity

And no jobs, apart from farming no factories come here

There are not many universities for more able children, just in the
largest cities.

And the secondary schools are mostly in towns,

which is where the hospitals are

while villages might have small clinics

In Tijuana, much of the housing is self-made shacks, called

shanty towns, lacking proper water supply and sewerage

which have sprung up close to the border

The busiest border crossing in the world

The border at night

PUSH FACTORS
High unemployment in Mexico
Low wages
Poor health care
Fewer educational opps
Uneconomic farming
Poor housing, shanties
Civil unrest
Natural disasters (1985 Mexico quake)

PULL FACTORS
USA is very close easy and cheap
Many border crossings easy illegal
Wage Rates USA 8 times Mexico
Attractive for USA employers; cheap

labour do jobs we dont want

Welfare system in USA
Free, high-quality schooling
Strong Hispanic community in USA already

http://s4geo.blogspot.com/2011/09/migratio
n-mexico-to-usa.html

Effects?
ON MEXICO:
Less economically active
Less TNCs likely to set up in Mexico
Ageing population left behind
Less soil erosion and pressure
Less unemployment
Birth rate drops
Migrants send $6billion home

Effects?
ON USA:
Overcrowding and ghettos; image of cities
Pressure on schools, hospitals
Increased cost for authorities health care, policing
etc.
Cost for border control
Source of cheap labour
Bring new skills/ideas
Become consumers; create new jobs
Pay $31billion a year in taxes