For decades scholars have attempted to understand the effects of immigration on the U.S. Social Security system. To date, this research has been primarily limited to migrants in the U.S. and does not consider those who return to their countries of origin. Immigrants often pay OASDI taxes using illegitimate Social Security numbers and may return to their home countries without collecting U.S. Social Security benefits. In this study, we analyze the socioeconomic and labor characteristics, health, migration histories, and transitions to retirement of male Mexican return migrants who contributed to the U.S. Social Security system. Using the 2003 and 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS), we find that in 2012, 32 percent of male return migrants reported having contributed to the U.S. Social Security system but only five percent of those who contributed, received or expected to receive benefits. Those who reported having contributed were more likely to have completed college, spent more years in the U.S., and were more likely to be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents than those who did not contribute. We also find that return migrants who spent one to nine years in the U.S. had a lower probability of transitioning to retirement between 2003 and 2012 than those had never been to the U.S. In contrast, those who spent 20 or more years in the U.S. had a higher probability of transitioning to retirement.

The 1965 Immigration Act released a stream of immigration from Asia and Latin America that continues to shape the U.S. population composition. While some of these migrants promptly returned to their countries of origin, many spent many years in the U.S. and face retirement with truncated work histories, legal impediments to old-age support programs, and social networks scattered in two countries. This dissertation examines one issue in the aging process for Latin American immigrants, namely the location of their retirement. I examine the extent to which older immigrants return to their home countries during later life and whether retirement income plays a role in this decision. A daunting challenge in studying this topic is data limitations. The migration literature notes numerous inconsistencies across data sources due to their different strengths and limitations. To address this issue, I do an in-depth examination of the magnitude and characteristics of return migration among older Mexican immigrants using multiple data sources to assess the consistency of the outcomes. In chapter 2, I discuss the rate of return migration among Mexican immigrants aged 50 years and their characteristics compared to their U.S.-residing counterparts using the Integrated Public-Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) for Mexico, the National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID), and the Mexican Health and Aging Survey (MHAS). I find that the five-year incidence of return migration from the U.S. to Mexico ranges from two percent when generated using IPUMS Mexico to six percent when using the MHAS. However, while the rate of return migration among this population is inconsistent across data sources, certain characteristics are not. All data sources suggest that return migrants are predominantly male and have intermediary levels of education. Characteristics that are inconsistent across data sources are marital, employment, and citizenship status. Aside from the magnitude and characteristics of return migration, I also examine one possible reason for return migration during later life, namely higher levels of retirement income. Mexicans with greater retirement benefits may view this income stream as a means toward greater luxury in the home country. Conversely, these migrants may return migrate only upon concluding that they cannot make ends meet in the U.S. Each scenario has vastly different implications for the U.S. economy. I examine this question in two chapters in order to take advantage of two forms of data: survey and administrative data. Pooling IPUMS U.S.A. and IPUMS Mexico, I conduct logistic regressions to determine if higher levels of retirement income are associated with an increased probability of return migration. I also do a sensitivity analysis to assess possible biases associated with pooling two data sources. Results from this chapter suggest that Mexican immigrants with lower levels of retirement income are more likely to return to their home country during later life than those with higher levels of retirement income. This pattern holds assuming various rates of Hispanic undercount. However, in the absence of a natural experiment, one cannot attach a causal interpretation to the results of this chapter. The experimental nature of chapter 4 does enable a causal interpretation. In chapter 4, I use a natural experiment whereby the Social Security Administration substantially lowered the Social Security benefits of the 1917-1921 birth cohorts due to a mistake in their benefit calculation formula. These birth cohorts have since been referred to as the ``notch" generation as graphs depicting average benefit amounts by birth cohort show a visible notch for this group. In chapter 4, I use this natural source of exogeneity to observe whether the ``notch" generation was more likely to return migrate than those who did not receive these lower benefits. Results of this chapter indicate that Social Security benefits do not affect the probability of return migration for Latin American primary Social Security beneficiaries.

Frederick Jackson Turner Award Finalist Winner of the David Montgomery Award Winner of the Theodore Saloutos Book Award Winner of the Betty and Alfred McClung Lee Book Award Winner of the Frances Richardson Keller-Sierra Prize Winner of the Américo Paredes Book Award “A deeply humane book.” —Mae Ngai, author of Impossible Subjects “Necessary and timely...A valuable text to consider alongside the current fight for DACA, the border concentration camps, and the unending rhetoric dehumanizing Mexican migrants.” —PopMatters “A deep dive into the history of Mexican migration to and from the United States.” —PRI’s The World In the 1970s, the Mexican government decided to tackle rural unemployment by supporting the migration of able-bodied men. Millions of Mexican men crossed into the United States to find work. They took low-level positions that few Americans wanted and sent money back to communities that depended on their support. They periodically returned to Mexico, living their lives in both countries. After 1986, however, US authorities disrupted this back-and-forth movement by strengthening border controls. Many Mexican men chose to remain in the United States permanently for fear of not being able to come back north if they returned to Mexico. For them, the United States became a jaula de oro—a cage of gold. Undocumented Lives tells the story of Mexican migrants who were compelled to bring their families across the border and raise a generation of undocumented children.

In this study we analyzed the retirement behavior of Mexicans with migration spells to the United States that returned to Mexico and non-migrants. Our analysis is based on rich panel data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS). Approximately 9 percent of MHAS respondents aged 50 and older reported having lived or worked in the United States. These return migrants were more likely to be working at older ages than non-migrants. Consistent with much of the prior research on retirement in the United States and other developed countries, Mexican non-migrants and return migrants were responsive to institutional incentives. Both groups were more likely to retire if they had publicly provided health insurance and pensions. In addition, receipt of U.S. Social Security benefits increased retirement rates among return migrants. Return migrants were more likely to report being in poor health and this also increased the likelihood of retiring. The 2004 draft of an Agreement on Social Security would coordinate benefits across United States and Mexico boundaries to protect the benefits of persons who have worked in foreign countries. The agreement would likely increase the number of authorized and unauthorized Mexican workers and family member eligible for Social Security benefits. The responsiveness of current, older Mexican return migrants to pension benefits, suggests that an Agreement would affect the retirement behavior of Mexican migrants.

From debates on Capitol Hill to the popular media, Mexican immigrants are the subject of widespread controversy. By 2003, their growing numbers accounted for 28.3 percent of all foreign-born inhabitants of the United States. Mexican Immigration to the United States analyzes the astonishing economic impact of this historically unprecedented exodus. Why do Mexican immigrants gain citizenship and employment at a slower rate than non-Mexicans? Does their migration to the U.S. adversely affect the working conditions of lower-skilled workers already residing there? And how rapid is the intergenerational mobility among Mexican immigrant families? This authoritative volume provides a historical context for Mexican immigration to the U.S. and reports new findings on an immigrant influx whose size and character will force us to rethink economic policy for decades to come. Mexican Immigration to the United States will be necessary reading for anyone concerned about social conditions and economic opportunities in both countries.

This comprehensive Handbook explores the fundamental concepts surrounding the ageing-migration nexus. It is indispensable reading, presenting interdisciplinary research to investigate the unique experiences of older migrants, migrant eldercare workers and older people left behind.

The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration finds that the long-term impact of immigration on the wages and employment of native-born workers overall is very small, and that any negative impacts are most likely to be found for prior immigrants or native-born high school dropouts. First-generation immigrants are more costly to governments than are the native-born, but the second generation are among the strongest fiscal and economic contributors in the U.S. This report concludes that immigration has an overall positive impact on long-run economic growth in the U.S. More than 40 million people living in the United States were born in other countries, and almost an equal number have at least one foreign-born parent. Together, the first generation (foreign-born) and second generation (children of the foreign-born) comprise almost one in four Americans. It comes as little surprise, then, that many U.S. residents view immigration as a major policy issue facing the nation. Not only does immigration affect the environment in which everyone lives, learns, and works, but it also interacts with nearly every policy area of concern, from jobs and the economy, education, and health care, to federal, state, and local government budgets. The changing patterns of immigration and the evolving consequences for American society, institutions, and the economy continue to fuel public policy debate that plays out at the national, state, and local levels. The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration assesses the impact of dynamic immigration processes on economic and fiscal outcomes for the United States, a major destination of world population movements. This report will be a fundamental resource for policy makers and law makers at the federal, state, and local levels but extends to the general public, nongovernmental organizations, the business community, educational institutions, and the research community.