Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration

Doug Massey is a leading scholars on Mexico-U.S. migration, and this book is a culmination of his and his colleagues' empirical research for close to two decades. Grounded in well-established principles in international immigration research, this book adopts objective lens to examine the complex forces underlying the migration between Mexico and the United States. The authors reviews a history shaped by competition between economic motives, nativist sentiments, and shifting regulatory regimes. The book presents a compelling case to demonstrate the politicized nation of policies enacted since the 1980s, which have not only been costly, ineffective in deterring border crossing, but also inadvertently encouraged more unauthorized migrants to stay in the United States. The same issues have become even more pronounced with the greater integration between the two countries since the passage of NAFTA. At an era when the United States is doubling down on a border control regime that has in many ways been counter-productive, the alternative system of rational management presented by these authors in 2002 deserves more consideration.

We all have to read this book now to understand why immigration is not as bad as we think it is.

If we assume the data is correct, I think these authors have made a compelling argument for a more rational, kind immigration system with Mexico. While I would be in favour of a North American borderless zone, I understand that would not be acceptable to many.This is a clearly written, methodical discussion of immigration on the southern border, and would highly recommend.

Explicitly policy-oriented, this book by Douglas Massey does not follow as faithfully the theoretical line he originated earlier. That line emphasized cumulative causation in migration processes whereas this book introduces exogenous, policy shocks that inhibit the cumulative causation already underway from reaching its logical conclusion.

I had to read this book for a class and it was very enlightening. Easy to read. I never read books assigned in class, but this one was an exception.

I didn't like how it was written- very redundant throughout the book. It needs better editing. Beyond that, the topic was certainly interesting.

product as expected.

Clear and easy to read!! Arrived faster than expected!