Mexican migration to the United States has comprised the world's largest sustained movement of migratory workers in the twentieth century. Given the current and persistent contentiousness surrounding the issues of legal and undocumented migration in Mexican and U.S. politics, it is time for abroad, binational historical perspective that assesses the development and impact of migratory trends and practices as they developed in Mexico and the United States through the twentieth century.An increased and well-established migratory flow in the first decades of the twentieth century prompted the beginning of significant immigration and emigration legislation that established enduring patterns in the binational relationship between the United States and Mexico. Throughout the century,U.S. immigrant legislation has consistently and strategically constructed the Mexican migrant first as a temporary and then as an illegal, unassimilable racialized other, a permanent outsider used to fill the critical labor demands of an expanding industrialized economy.For its part, Mexico, always in a subordinate political and economic position vis-a-vis the United States, initially used its emigration policies to attempt to prevent the flight of its working citizens and then during World War II reversed its position to facilitate an out-migration that yieldedeconomic gains through remittances and relief from unemployment and rapid population growth. Although the implementation or absence of regulatory measures depended upon an array of historical and locally determined factors, the binational economic need for migrant labor and the perceived racialcomposition of migrants and their membership in the nation-state remained fundamental to legislative practices.

This book analyzes the different aspects of the migration from Mexico to the United States from the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Len and Tamaulipas, because migration from this area is different from that occurring in other parts of the border. The various authors analyze the historical context that has made some areas stand out from others; study the new migration patterns which highlight the northeastern border as an important area; present the anti migratory policies of recent years such as the Ro Grande Operation in Texas in 1997 -; and give data on the increasing arrests of illegal workers from central America and Brasil.

Mexican migration to the United States and Canada is a highly contentious issue in the eyes of many North Americans, and every generation seems to construct the northward flow of labor as a brand new social problem. The history of Mexican labor migration to the United States, from the Bracero Program (1942-1964) to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), suggests that Mexicans have been actively encouraged to migrate northward when labor markets are in short supply, only to be turned back during economic downturns. In this timely book, Mize and Swords dissect the social relations that define how corporations, consumers, and states involve Mexican immigrant laborers in the politics of production and consumption. The result is a comprehensive and contemporary look at the increasingly important role that Mexican immigrants play in the North American economy.

In 1917 Mexico signed into law the new constitution, and the United States entered the First World War. The author of El primer programa bracero y el gobierno de México, 1917-1918 seeks to explain how both events shaped relations between these bordering nations, especially regarding issues of labor migration. Fernando Saúl Alanís Enciso organizes his study around four central arguments. First, as the U.S. war effort drew millions of workers away from fields and factories and created new demands for foods and other supplies for the troops abroad, U.S. employers faced labor shortages, aggressively recruited workers from Mexico, and successfully campaigned for more open migration policies. Second, the northern "pull" of demand for labor and recruitment efforts, more so than "push" factors from Mexico, resulted in significant migration (both authorized and clandestine) of Mexican working-class families seeking jobs in a variety of U.S. private and public enterprises, such as railroads, aluminum factories, shipbuilding and other construction operations, fish-packing plants, rice and sugar plantations, and even government military camps. At the same time, however, poor working conditions, anti-Mexican hostilities, and a panic caused by Mexican nationals being drafted into the US military combined to lead many migrants to cross back over the border in 1917 and 1918, as Alanís Enciso notes in his third point. Finally, contrary to some accounts, the author argues that the Carrancista government took a number of measures to reverse the migration trend, including warning would-be emigrants of the hardships they would endure north of the Río Bravo and promoting repatriation among those already in the United States. Even so, there remained a steady outflow of workers from Mexico in 1917 and 1918. Alanís Enciso's use of Mexican consular reports, Mexican Department of Labor records, and daily newspapers from both Mexico and the United States generally supports the individual points and leads to some fresh insights and perspectives. Most notably, the author shows that many important border policies and migration agreements originated not from the president's quarters in the national capital, but from initiatives and negotiations carried out by consular offices in the U.S. For instance, a loosely defined bracero "program" began to emerge when Mexican consuls in border states met directly with employers and U.S. federal and state government authorities to coordinate the movement of laborers, and to press for better working and living conditions, employer-paid transportation to and from the border, and protection from mistreatment. Consuls also called for an end to the drafting of Mexican citizens into the U.S. military and intervened directly in hundreds of cases to effect the release of conscripted Mexicans.

Latinos are the fastest growing population in America today. This two-volume encyclopedia traces the history of Latinos in the United States from colonial times to the present, focusing on their impact on the nation in its historical development and current culture. "Latino History and Culture" covers the myriad ethnic groups that make up the Latino population. It explores issues such as labor, legal and illegal immigration, traditional and immigrant culture, health, education, political activism, art, literature, and family, as well as historical events and developments. A-Z entries cover eras, individuals, organizations and institutions, critical events in U.S. history and the impact of the Latino population, communities and ethnic groups, and key cities and regions. Each entry includes cross references and bibliographic citations, and a comprehensive index and illustrations augment the text.

This comprehensive title is among the first to extensively use newly released 2010 U.S. Census data to examine multiculturalism today and tomorrow in America. This distinction is important considering the following NPR report by Eyder Peralta: "Based on the first national numbers released by the Census Bureau, the AP reports that minorities account for 90 percent of the total U.S. growth since 2000, due to immigration and higher birth rates for Latinos." According to John Logan, a Brown University sociologist who has analyzed most of the census figures, "The futures of most metropolitan areas in the country are contingent on how attractive they are to Hispanic and Asian populations." Both non-Hispanic whites and blacks are getting older as a group. "These groups are tending to fade out," he added. Another demographer, William H. Frey with the Brookings Institution, told The Washington Post that this has been a pivotal decade. "We're pivoting from a white-black-dominated American population to one that is multiracial and multicultural."Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia explores this pivotal moment and its ramifications with more than 900 signed entries not just providing a compilation of specific ethnic groups and their histories but also covering the full spectrum of issues flowing from the increasingly multicultural canvas that is America today. Pedagogical elements include an introduction, a thematic reader's guide, a chronology of multicultural milestones, a glossary, a resource guide to key books, journals, and Internet sites, and an appendix of 2010 U.S. Census Data. Finally, the electronic version will be the only reference work on this topic to augment written entries with multimedia for today's students, with 100 videos (with transcripts) from Getty Images and Video Vault, the Agence France Press, and Sky News, as reviewed by the media librarian of the Rutgers University Libraries, working in concert with the title's editors.

A landmark scholarly work, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States offers comprehensive, reliable, and accessible information about the fastest growing minority population in the nation. With an unprecedented scope and cutting-edge scholarship, the Encyclopedia draws together the diverse historical and contemporary experiences in the United States of Latinos and Latinas from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Over 900 A to Z articles ranging in length from 500 words to 7,500 words written by academics, scholars, writers, artists, and journalists, address such broad topics as identity, art, politics, religion, education, health, and history. Each entry has its own bibliography and cross-references and is signed by its author. Essential for scholarly and professional researchers as well as the classroom and library, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States will fill a void in the historical scholarship of an under-served population.

As part of a bilateral commitment to focus on winning World War II, over 100,000 contracts were signed between 1943 and 1945 to recruit and transport Mexican workers to the United States for employment on the railroads. A little-known companion to the widely criticized agricultural bracero program, the railroad bracero program corresponded in its implementation more closely to the original intent of both governments than did its agricultural counterpart. In spite of pressure from the railroad industry to continue the program indefinitely, the U.S. government was adamant about terminating it on schedule and returning the workers to Mexico. The railroad bracero program still stands as the only historical example of a binational migration agreement between the two countries that was executed and concluded in the spirit of the original negotiations. The abuses commonly associated with the agricultural program were controlled in the railroad program by the organization of international committees wherein the Mexican government could, and did, force the U.S. government to be accountable for the plight of railroad braceros. The Tracks North is the only book-length study devoted to the railroad bracero program. Barbara Driscoll examines the program and its place in the long history of U.S.-Mexican relations. In so doing, she uses a wealth of materials seldom used by investigators of the bracero program, and also provides a clearer picture of the internal workings of the bracero program in Mexico than any other study produced to date.

As part of a bilateral commitment to focus on winning World War II, over 100,000 contracts were signed between 1943 and 1945 to recruit and transport Mexican workers to the United States for employment on the railroads. A little-known companion to the widely criticized agricultural bracero program, the railroad bracero program corresponded in its implementation more closely to the original intent of both governments than did its agricultural counterpart. In spite of pressure from the railroad industry to continue the program indefinitely, the U.S. government was adamant about terminating it on schedule and returning the workers to Mexico. The railroad bracero program still stands as the only historical example of a binational migration agreement between the two countries that was executed and concluded in the spirit of the original negotiations. The abuses commonly associated with the agricultural program were controlled in the railroad program by the organization of international committees wherein the Mexican government could, and did, force the U.S. government to be accountable for the plight of railroad braceros. The Tracks North is the only book-length study devoted to the railroad bracero program. Barbara Driscoll examines the program and its place in the long history of U.S.-Mexican relations. In so doing, she uses a wealth of materials seldom used by investigators of the bracero program, and also provides a clearer picture of the internal workings of the bracero program in Mexico than any other study produced to date.