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Considerable wealth stratification exists between U.S.-born and foreign-born populations (Campbell and Kaufman 2006), with low wealth attainment documented among Mexican immigrants (Hao 2007). High rates of Mexican return migration (Azose and Raftery 2019) suggest that nonrandom selection into return migration on wealth is a potential driver of stratification. Existing theories do not conclusively predict asset accumulation among returnees versus stayers, and empirical research on return migration and wealth stratification is scarce. Combining data from the 2000 U.S. Health and Retirement Study and the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study to create a novel data set representing all Mexicans aged 50 and older with a history of migration to the United States and adopting a life course perspective, I find that return migration at younger and older ages is associated with higher wealth accumulation and might be a way to maximize assets at older ages. Thus, return migration may contribute to nativity-based wealth stratification in the United States. The study's findings point to the greater financial risks for new cohorts of immigrants aging in place, suggest caution in interpreting wealth stratification as a measure of mobility, and inform theories about the links between return migration and wealth across the life course.

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Returnee entrepreneurs are often represented in migration and development discourses as agents of development. This assumes that they acquire valuable socio-economic resources abroad which help them to create successful businesses upon return. However, we have scant knowledge of the impact of the geopolitical context on returnee entrepreneurs or their coping strategies. Latin American returnees in particular have received little attention and few studies focus on migrants with 'South-to-South' return trajectories. Emphasising the role of territorial conflicts and the agency of individuals, I use a feminist geopolitical perspective to address these gaps. I contribute to migration, mobility, and development studies by studying whether Colombian migrants returning from Venezuela can reintegrate as successful entrepreneurs. Further, I offer the concept of transmobilities to study the cross-border nature of strategies of reintegration. The 30 returnees studied have a trajectory of repeated forced mobilities, ranging from internal displacement in Colombia, subsequent emigration to Venezuela, and final deportation to Colombia by Venezuela's government. I combine the qualitative methods of multi-sited ethnography, biographical interviews, mental maps, and participatory Minga workshops. The analysis shows that Colombian returnees face intense difficulties in reintegrating despite their strong motivation and entrepreneurial spirit. The geopolitical context of armed struggle, an absent Colombian state, and territorial conflicts between Colombia and Venezuela create an unfavourable environment for returnee entrepreneurs. Consequently, they develop transmobility strategies - including the movement of people, goods, and capital across national borders - at the risk of their own lives. The simplistic discourse of returnees as agents of development needs to be revised.

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Recent estimates suggest that nearly half of all international migrants return to their communities of origin within five years of emigration. Motivated by high levels of return migration, scholars are increasingly investigating the ways in which return migrants mobilize resources they acquire abroad, such as human and financial capital, to achieve economic mobility upon return. Yet, resource mobilization and labor market reintegration unfold in heterogeneous community contexts. To understand the labor market reintegration of return migrants in various local contexts, we draw on an eight-year study that included interviews with 153 Mexican returnees to examine how labor market reintegration and resource mobilization vary across three types of communities: urban, urban-adjacent, and rural. U.S.-Mexico migration is the largest binational return flow in the world, providing a unique opportunity to explore variations in the reintegration experiences of returnees. We find that labor market reintegration and resource mobilization are contextually embedded processes that respond to the social, economic, and spatial features of migrants' origin communities. Following our analysis, we extend three testable hypotheses that can guide future research on international migration and return.

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RESUMO: A migração de retorno se tornou apenas recentemente objeto de pesquisas no campo da saúde mental. A experiência do migrante de retorno em sua comunidade de origem o expõe aos olhares de alteridade que apontam para a fragilidade tanto de seus ideais egóicos como daqueles partilhados com o grupo cultural, particularmente quando o retorno se faz "com as mãos abanando". Com duas vinhetas clínicas tiradas de uma pesquisa conduzida no Senegal entre 2014 e 2019, abordamos esse cenário no qual os sujeitos enfrentam vergonha, humilhação e abjeção quando retornam, ficando condenados a um espaço marginal de entre-dois migratório.

Abstract: Return migration has only recently become subject of research in the field of mental health. The experience of the returning migrant in his community of origin exposes him to the eyes of otherness that point to the fragility of both his ego ideals and those shared with the cultural group, particularly when the return is made "with empty hands". With two clinical vignettes taken from a survey conducted in Senegal between 2014 and 2019, we approach this scenario in which the subjects face shame, humiliation and abjection when they return, being condemned to a "migratory between-two" marginal space.

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This study investigates the effect of international migration experience on entrepreneurship in sending areas. To identify prosperous businesses that create jobs and encourage economic development, this study isolates businesses other than street-vending enterprises with non-family employees. Retrospective life history data from the Mexican Migration Project (N = 11,789 persons & 146,372 person-years) was used to estimate the annual probability of becoming an entrepreneur across 170 Mexican communities between 1975-2017. This study found that (1) any prior migration experience increases the probability of entrepreneurial entry relative to non-migrants; (2) accumulated months of migration experience are positively associated with the probability of entrepreneurial entry; (3) undocumented status is associated with a lower probability of entrepreneurial entry. The positive effect of accumulated migration experience on entrepreneurship suggests that international migrants can accumulate human and financial resources that are essential to early stage entrepreneurship. Thus, entrepreneurship represents an important pathway through which international migration can encourage economic development in less developed regions. At the same time, the results suggest that that immigration policies in receiving countries can undercut migrants' capacities to mobilize resources and contribute to economic development upon return. These findings suggest that target migration creates a win-win by addressing labor shortages in receiving countries, while transferring resources to sending areas that enable economic mobility and development.

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Data from the Mexican Census reveal that between 2005 and 2015, nearly two million migrants returned voluntarily to Mexico from the United States. Currently, high rates of voluntary-return migration to Mexico continue at the same time that migration flows to the U.S. steadily decline. This return migration trend presents serious challenges for Mexico, a country that has long struggled to satisfy the health care demands of its population. However, little is known about return migrants' health care needs. In this study, we examine the health risk profiles and healthcare utilization for Mexican return migrants and the non-migrant population. We examine how these outcomes are affected by both the migration and return migration experience of the returnee population, while paying close attention to age-group differences. We employ inverse probability weighting regression adjustment (IPWRA) and logistic regression analysis of a sample of 348,450 respondents from the 2014 National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID) to test for differences in health conditions between those Mexican return migrants and non-migrants. We then turn to the Survey of Migration at Mexico's Northern Border (EMIF Norte, for its Spanish acronym) for the 2014-2017 period to further assess whether certain characteristics linked to aging and the migration experience influence the prevalence of chronic health conditions, and health insurance coverage among 17,258 returned migrants. Findings reveal that compared to non-migrants, returnees are more likely to be physically impaired. These poor health outcomes are influenced by the migration and return migration experience and vary by age group and duration of residence, the time that has elapsed since returning to Mexico. We do not find an association between return migration and mental or emotional distress. Policy implications are discussed in light of immigration reform and restrictions on eligibility for health insurance coverage for older adults in Mexico.

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In the past 10 years, a historical change occurred in migration flows within North America: specifically, Mexico-U.S. migration reached zero net migration. Alongside Mexican adults returning to their homeland was an unprecedented number of U.S.-born minors. Little is known about this massive migration of U.S. citizen children. We analyze Mexican census data from 2000 to 2015 to estimate the size and characteristics of the population of U.S.-born minors residing in Mexico. Between 2000 and 2010, the population of U.S.-born minors doubled to more than half a million. The population stabilized, aged, and became longer-term Mexican residents thereafter. The large majority of U.S.-born minors are primary school-aged. Although concentrated in the northern border and traditional migrant-sending regions, U.S.-born minors are distributed throughout Mexico. The majority of U.S.-born minors live in Mexico with two Mexican-born parents, but one-third are separated from one or both parents, and most of those separated from parents reside with grandparents. We interpret these trends in reference to the determinants of Mexico-U.S. migration, transnational and mixed-status families, and the future spatial and social mobility of U.S.-born minors living in Mexico.

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This article examines continuities and changes in the prevalence and determinants of first migration and return between Mexico and the United States. Results show a dramatic decline over time in the likelihood of migrants' making a first trip. The empirical design distinguishes processes affecting migrating cohorts from those emanating from period conditions, paying particular attention to changes in educational selectivity and the legal status of the flows. The definition of cohort and period corresponds roughly to changes in U.S. migration policy and the American economy. We find that the likelihood of return migration also declined in conjunction with period conditions that are related to border enforcement. The drop in the likelihood of return was particularly sharp for undocumented migrants, and over time return flows increasingly consist of documented migrants. The implications of these findings for immigration policy in the United States and for the incorporation of returnees in Mexico are discussed.

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Return migrants engage in high rates of self-employment, which scholars commonly attribute to the accumulation of financial and human capital while working abroad. Central to this scholarship is the assumption that self-employment is positive and leads to upward economic mobility among return migrants. This scholarship is limited, however, because it relies on large surveys and cross-sectional census data that treat self-employment as a single uni-dimensional status measured at one point in time. To improve conceptualization and measurement of self- employment, we engage three bodies of research that have thus far had little cross-fertilization: the literature on work and self-employment in Latin America, the scholarship on return migration and self-employment, and developments in economic theories of international migration. Drawing on results from the first longitudinal analysis of the labor market trajectories of Mexican return migrants in a large urban area in central Mexico, we identify three types of self-employment - survivalist, temporary, and prosperous. To explain these divergent self-employment pathways, we draw on biographical narratives and identify two sets of mechanisms - human capital formation and life-course stage. Overall, our investigation of self-employment types suggests a complex relationship between international migration experiences and the labor market mobility of return migrants which cannot be understood without taking into consideration migrants' social and economic circumstances before, during, and after migration. Consequently, our study yields insights into economic theories of international migration and provides direction for future research on return migration and labor market reintegration.

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Purpose: For decades, scholars have studied the effects of immigration on the U.S. social security system. To date, this research has been primarily limited to migrants within the United States and does not consider those who return to their countries of origin. We estimate the proportion of male Mexican return migrants who contributed to the U.S. social security system and analyze their socioeconomic characteristics and migration histories. We also estimate the proportion that receive or expect to receive U.S. social security benefits. Design and Methods: Using probit regression on the 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS), we describe the predictors of having contributed to the U.S. social security system among Mexican males in Mexico aged 50 years and older who at some point lived in the United States. Results: We find that 32% of male return migrants reported having contributed to the U.S. social security system, but only 5% of those who contributed, received or expected to receive benefits. Those who reported having contributed spent more years in the United States and were more likely to be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents than those who did not contribute. Implications: Immigrants often pay Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance taxes using legitimate or illegitimate social security numbers and return to their home countries without collecting U.S. social security benefits.

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Despite having lower levels of education and limited access to health care services, Mexican immigrants report better health outcomes than U.S.-born individuals. Research suggests that the Mexican health advantage may be partially attributable to selective return migration among less healthy migrants-often referred to as "salmon bias." Our study takes advantage of a rare opportunity to observe the health status of Mexican-origin males as they cross the Mexican border. To assess whether unhealthy migrants are disproportionately represented among those who return, we use data from two California-based studies: the California Health Interview Survey; and the Migrante Study, a survey that samples Mexican migrants entering and leaving the United States through Tijuana. We pool these data sources to look for evidence of health-related return migration. Results provide mixed support for salmon bias. Although migrants who report health limitations and frequent stress are more likely to return, we find little evidence that chronic conditions and self-reported health are associated with higher probabilities of return. Results also provide some indication that limited health care access increases the likelihood of return among the least healthy. This study provides new theoretical considerations of return migration and further elucidates the relationship between health and migration decisions.

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Using a unique panel data set of state-to-state outward and return migration flows between Mexico and the United States from 1995 to 2012, this study is the first to analyze Mexico-U.S. migration at the state level and explore simultaneously the effect of economic, environmental, and social factors in Mexico over two decades. Pairing origin and destination states and controlling for a rich structure of fixed effects, we find that income positively impacts migration outflows, especially for Mexican states of origin with a recent migration history and for low-educated migrant flows, suggesting the existence of credit constraints. We find evidence that drought causes more out-migration, while other climatic shocks have no effect. Violence is found to increase out-migration flows from border states and to decrease migration from other Mexican states, especially where violence is directed at migrants. Last, return flows are larger when income growth at destination is lower, consistent with the accumulation of savings as a primary motivation of migrants. Exploring the impact of the crisis, we find evidence of significant changes in the geography of migration flows. Traditional flows are drying up, and new migration corridors are rising, with implications on the composition of the Mexican population in the United States. Although the effect of income on flows in both directions is unchanged by the crisis, the negative effect of violence on out-migration tends to reverse at the end of the period. Overall, this study emphasizes the interest of analyzing disaggregated flows at the infra-country level.

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Numerous studies have documented a high propensity for self-employment and business formation among return migrants relative to non-migrants. The literature points to the importance of remitted savings, migration duration, and number and types of jobs abroad for business formation upon return. Implicit in this scholarship is the assumption that migrants acquire not only financial capital, but also human capital, which expands their opportunities upon return. Empirical work has demonstrated how the transfer of formal human capital, such as language skills and professional credentials, influences the mobility pathways of professional return migrants. More recent research has also found that the transfer of informal human capital, such as social and technical skills learned on the job, shape the mobility pathways of return migrants with little schooling. Absent from this scholarship, however, are studies that directly test the relationship between the transfer of informal human capital and the odds of business formation among return migrants. In this paper, we address this gap. Using a multidimensional skills variable, which includes social, technical, and English language competences, we measure and test the relationship between skill acquisition and transfer and business formation among return migrants. Drawing on findings from a survey of 200 return migrants and 200 non-migrants in Mexico, we show that return migrants who successfully acquire and transfer new skills across the migratory circuit often leverage their new knowledge to launch businesses. Our findings have wide implications for how social scientists conceptualize and measure human capital formation across the migratory circuit.

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We use data from three rounds of the Mexican Family Life Survey to examine whether migrants in the United States returning to Mexico in the period 2005-2012 have worse health than those remaining in the United States. Despite extensive interest by demographers in health-related selection, this has been a neglected area of study in the literature on U.S.-Mexico migration, and the few results to date have been contradictory and inconclusive. Using five self-reported health variables collected while migrants resided in the United States and subsequent migration history, we find direct evidence of higher probabilities of return migration for Mexican migrants in poor health as well as lower probabilities of return for migrants with improving health. These findings are robust to the inclusion of potential confounders reflecting the migrants' demographic characteristics, economic situation, family ties, and origin and destination characteristics. We anticipate that in the coming decade, health may become an even more salient issue in migrants' decisions about returning to Mexico, given the recent expansion in access to health insurance in Mexico.

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Deportations from the Unites States (US) to Mexico increased substantially during the last decade. Considering deportation as a stressful event with potential consequences on mental health, we aimed to (1) estimate the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) among deported migrants; and (2) explore the association between migratory experience, social support and psychological variables, and CMD in this group. In repatriation points along the border, a probability sample of deportees responded to the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ). The prevalence of CMD was 16.0% (95% CI 12.3, 20.6). There was a U-shaped association between time in the US and SRQ score. Times returned to Mexico, having a spouse in the US, number of persons in household, less social support, anxiety as a personality trait, and avoidant coping style were directly associated with SRQ score. Public health policies should address the need for mental health care among deported migrants.

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"Our aims in this paper are to broaden explanation of remittance expenditures and to evaluate the positive contributions of remittances, return migrants, or circulating sojourners. Specifically focusing on the situation in ¿home' communities, we illustrate the multifaceted consequences of remittances and migration, emphasizing positive nonmonetary and social impacts." Data are from ethnographic research carried out in 1992-1993 in Santa Ana del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico.

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"The purpose of this article is to place Chinese labor migration from agriculture within the context of the literature on labor mobility in developing countries by comparing it to undocumented Mexican migration to the United States. The similarities fall within three general areas: the migration process, the economic and social position of migrants at their destination, and the agrarian structure and process of agricultural development that has perpetuated circular migration. The last section of the article draws upon these similarities, as well as differences between the two countries, to generate predictions concerning the development of labor migration in China."

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"The last four decades have seen the establishment of close migratory links between the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe and the metropole.... The present paper focuses on the...complex migratory links--including continuing emigration from the islands for work and education, return migration and circulation--which have come to characterise the 1980s.... The paper aims also to contribute to the broader conceptualisation of migration and mobility. The principal conclusions reveal that the more straightforward labour migration of the years from 1963 to 1981 has been replaced by some considerable return migration (amongst young adults particularly) and circulation.... The paper also demonstrates that the role of migration in reducing population growth and fertility in the islands has been much altered during the course of the 1980s."

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"Japanese emigration to Brazil started in 1908 with some eight hundred subsidized contract workers for coffee plantations. Hard conditions made many of them flee, and the paulista government suppressed subsidies for these projects; however, the Japanese emigration to Brazil kept on under Japanese subsidies from 1925 until 1934 when Brazil imposed immigration quotas unfavorable to Japanese immigration. International circumstances in the late 1930s and local prohibition on the use of the Japanese language in Brazil caused many immigrants to return to Japan between 1939-1941. Emigration to Brazil restarted as diplomatic relations between Japan and Brazil were reestablished in 1952 but decreased in the late 1960s. Subsequent economic evolution in both countries caused Japanese emigrants in Brazil and their [descendants] to initiate dekasegui [labor] migration from Brazil to Japan as from the late 1980s." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

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"Migration between the urban areas of the State of Jalisco and the United States has undergone profound transformations in the last twenty years. These are apparent in the recent decrease of the flow of first time migrants and the migration balance; the growing participation of women in this flow; and in the diversity of activities carried out by the migrants, both in their place of origin and in the United States.... Migration is translated by an important transfer of currency, mostly used for the support of the families of the migrants; by a shift in the activities of the migrants, from wages towards different forms of self-employment; and by the sway of the primary and secondary sectors of economy towards the tertiary sector, once the migrants reinstall themselves in their cities of origin." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)

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