 | ISBN: 978-0-9702838-8-7 $55.00 | |
| ISBN: 978-0-9702838-9-4 $24.50 | ||
| 2007/257 pages Distributed for the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California, San Diego | ||
Yucatán, an impoverished state in southern Mexico, has recently emerged as a significant source of US-bound migrants. Why did this state's indigenous population wait so long to enter the migration stream, and how do their experiences differ from those of earlier more traditional migrants?
Mayan Journeys explores how internal migration to southern Mexico's tourist resorts serves as a springboard for international migration and how the new migrants navigate enhanced obstacles at the US-Mexico border and enter the US labor force. Drawing on an extensive 2006 survey of migrants and potential migrants in Tunkás, Yucatán, and its satellite communities in Southern California, the authors provide new evidence of the failure of US border enforcement to deter undocumented migration from Mexico.
“Deepens our understanding of the emergence of Yucatán as a region of emigration, as well as the growth of immigration among indigenous peoples.... Vignettes and interviews provide good evidence that migrants, as well as those who stay at home, are increasingly sustained as well as changed by the growing web of relationships and knowledge associated with migration. The book can also contribute to wiser U.S. immigration policy.... Research-grounded case studies such as this contribute vital insights for addressing international human movement more sensibly.” —James Loucky, Contemporary Sociology