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This project, funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, brought together policymakers, analysts and civil society stakeholders from both countries to revitalize the binational dialogue on migration issues.  The Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute organized a series of three meetings focusing on major aspects of the migration relationship:

  • U.S. immigration policy enforcement and binational processes of repatriation
  • The relationship of economic development and migration
  • Immigrant integration and patterns of naturalization

The first meeting, held November 2010 at the Wilson Center in Washington, addressed the full range of enforcement policies and practices, and traced the repatriation process south of the U.S.-Mexico border.  A comprehensive background paper on U.S. policies prepared for this meeting by the Earl Warren Institute at the University of California, Berkeley Law School was published online by both the Wilson Center and the Warren Institute: 

Borders Jails, and Jobsites: An Overview of Federal Immigration Enforcement Programs in the U.S.

The second phase of the project held two days of meetings in Mexico City in April 2011 examining the relationship of migration to economic development.  The first day’s workshop gathered stakeholders, advocates and researchers, while the second day’s discussion at the Mexican Foreign Ministry convened representatives of foundations, multilateral institutions and government agencies involved in development.  The report summarizing these discussions was published online and circulated in print form:

Linking Development & Migration: A Binational U.S.-Mexico Dialogue

The project’s third conference, focused on immigrant integration, was held in Los Angeles in October 2011 in conjunction with Loyola Marymount University and the University of Southern California.  This meeting examined previously unpublished data provided by the Office of Immigration Statistics of the Department of Homeland Security.  These data let to the final publication of the project, which analyzes patterns of legal and legalized Mexican immigration and naturalization from 1985-2010.  The report is available both online and in print:

"The Legal Side of Mexican Immigration