Mexico and its Diaspora in the United States
Policies of Emigration since 1848

In the past two decades, changes in the Mexican government's policies toward the 30 million Mexican migrants living in the US highlight the importance of the Mexican diaspora in both countries given its size, its economic power and its growing political participation across borders. This work examines how the Mexican government's assessment of the possibilities and consequences of implementing certain emigration policies from 1848 to 2010 has been tied to changes in the bilateral relationship, which remains a key factor in Mexico's current development of strategies and policies in relation to migrants in the United States. Understanding this dynamic gives an insight into the stated and unstated objectives of Mexico's recent activism in defending migrants' rights and engaging the diaspora, the continuing linkage between Mexican migration policies and shifts in the US-Mexico relationship, and the limits and possibilities for expanding shared mechanisms for the management of migration within the NAFTA framework.

1. The Mexican state's interests: a multi-level analysis; 2. The consolidation of the Mexican state and the 'safety valve' of emigration (1848–1942); 3. From the Bracero agreements to 'delinkage' (1942–82); 4. From a 'policy of having no policy' to 'a nation beyond Mexico's borders' (1982–2000); 5. Redefining Mexico's emigration policies (2000–6); 6. Institutionalizing state-diaspora relations (2000–6).

Dr Alexandra Délano is Assistant Professor of Global Studies at The New School in New York City. Her research focuses on Mexican migration, Latinos in the United States and the historical development of Mexico's diaspora engagement policies. She received her doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University and has been a Postdoctoral Fellow in Politics at the New School for Social Research and a Fellow at Yale University. Her articles have appeared in the International Migration Review, The Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, International Migration, Social Research, Foro Internacional, Americas Quarterly and Migración y Desarrollo.