Work and family divided across borders: the impact of parental migration on Mexican children in transnational families

Abstract

Using new data collected in high emigration communities within Mexico, we explore the impact of partial family migration on children left behind in Mexico. Multivariate results suggest that households where respondents have a spouse who was a caregiver and who migrated to the USA are more likely to have at least one child with academic, behavioral, and emotional problems than non-migrant households. This finding supports efforts to decrease the need for families to cross borders either by decreasing the economic necessities for migration or by designing immigration policies aimed at decreasing the separation of families across borders and increasing family support after a caregiver's departure to the USA. The end goal of these efforts and policies is to improve children's health and well-being in communities with high levels of migration.

[Agrave] partir de nouvelles données collectées au Mexique auprès de communautés résidant dans des zones o[ugrave] la migration est très forte, nous explorons l'impact de l’émigration partielle d'une famille aux Etats-Unis sur le bien-être des enfants demeurés au Mexique. Les résultats de modèles multivariés suggèrent que les foyers ayant des répondants avec un époux qui avait plusieurs tâches parentales avant sa migration aux Etats-Unis ont plus de chance d'avoir au moins un enfant avec des problèmes au niveau académique, comportemental et émotionnel que les foyers qui ne sont pas touchés pas la migration. Ces résultats appuient les mesures visant à diminuer les besoins des familles à traverser les frontières telles la diminution des mauvaises conditions économiques qui poussent à émigrer ainsi que l'augmentation du support apporté aux familles suite au départ pour les Etats-Unis d'un parent ou de toute autre personne qui assumait beaucoup de responsabilités parentales. L'objectif ultime pour tous ces efforts et ces politiques est l'amélioration de la santé et du bien-être des enfants vivant dans des communautés à forts courants migratoires.

Keywords:

• migration
• transnational families
• family well-being
• children's well-being
• children's health
• caregiving

Mots-clés:

• migration
• familles transnationales
• bien-être des familles
• bien-être des enfants
• santé des enfants
• charge parentale

Acknowledgements

The research presented in this paper was made possible due to a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The authors would like to thank Edmundo Berumen for his valuable advice regarding the fielding of the survey. We are indebted to Andrea Diaz Varela for her research assistance.

Notes

1. To be considered a migrant household, at least one member had to migrate to the USA in the last five years (between 1999 and 2004). Each sampled household that had a recent migrant was selected for the full interview while one in three of the sampled households meeting the other requirements was asked to complete an interview.

2. It is important to note that most respondents who have a spouse living in the USA reported themselves as ‘separated’. The separated/divorced/widowed category includes both respondents separated legally or because of distance.

3. For more information, refer to examples such as programs from the Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO).