Mexico-US Border Migration

• For the USA today, the issue of illegal migration across the Mexican border is a major policy issue that divides the public and politicians like.
• When in office, Obama called for work permits to be issued to many of the estimated 8 million unauthorised workers living in the USA. vs Trump demanding a wall be built along Mexican border to stop illegal migrants from Central America from heading north in large numbers.
• Spatial distribution of unauthorised workers in USA is highly uneven and thus one reason why US citizens have such different views on migration is because some e.g Texas experience its effect more than others e.g Montana
• Economic impacts: migrants are a vital part of the US economy's growth engine. From New York restaurant kitchens to California's vineyards, legal and illegal migrants work long hours with low pay. High unemployment in some cities has led to calls for American jobs to be given to American citizens instead
• National security: following the terrorist attacks in 2001, the USA entered an era of heightened security of concerns, leading to growing support for the anti-immigration 'Tea Party' movement. In 2016, Republican presidential contender Trump suggested Muslims should be banned from entering USA on basis that global terror groups ISIS pledge allegiance to Islam - this was taken offensively by many yet Trump persisted that he was simply thinking of ways to safeguard national security.
• Demographic impacts: In the USA and other developed countries, youthful migration offsets the costs of an ageing population But, higher birth rates of some immigrant communities is changing the ethnic population composition of the USA. 1950: 3 million US citizens were Hispanic and today the figure has reached 60 million which is around 1/5 of the population.
• Cultural change: Migrants change places when they influence food, music and language. Hispanic population growth is affecting the content of US media as programmers and advertisers seek out a larger share of the audience by offering Spanish-language soap operas on services e.g Netflix
• 2016: US Department of Homeland Security strengthened its national operation to deport unauthorised Central American families.
• The number of families crossing the border rose steeply in 2015 due to drought and gang-related violence in El Salvador and Honduras.
• 2017: 11.3 million illegal immigrants in the USA, down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007. > 1/2 from Mexico with another 15% from the rest of Latin America.
• Many Latin American migrants use the Mexican border as a corridor to get into the US.