Timelines

Migration is a natural part of living systems, and human history is no exception. Yet it remains one of the most debated public issues of our time.

Both people and borders move. Who is allowed to move, and who is granted rights, lies at the heart of how nations define belonging. In Germany and the United States alike, these debates have been deeply intertwined with evolving ideas of race and ethnicity.

These timelines trace how citizenship and belonging have been constructed, challenged, and redefined through laws, social movements, global events, and cultural works — and how those histories continue to shape the present.

1994

NAFTA Catalyses Mexican Migration

Enacted on January 1, 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created a trilateral trade bloc amongst the United States, Canada, and Mexico that eliminated barriers to trade and investment.

Proponents of NAFTA claimed it would stimulate the Mexican economy and, therefore, curb undocumented immigration from Mexico to the United States. However, U.S. agricultural imports in Mexico pummeled the prices of many Mexican products, forcing many agricultural workers to migrate for work. Moreover, U.S. manufacturers built a major industrial zone on the southern side of the border to take advantage of weak labor, environmental, and worker safety regulations in Mexico, contributing to increased border populations. NAFTA not only compelled many Mexicans to migrate north, it also led to depressed wages and job losses among American blue-collar workers. Both realities fueled a tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States.

United States

Sources

Alejandro Portes. NAFTA and Mexican Immigration. Border Battles: The U.S. Immigration Debates. July 31, 2006. Date accessed: September 12, 2015.
Roger Bybee, Carolyn Winter. Immigration Flood Unleashed by NAFTA’s Disastrous Impact on Mexican Economy. April 26, 2006. Date accessed: September 12, 2015.
Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Douglas S. Massey. “Borders for whom? The role of NAFTA in Mexico-US migration”. The ANNALS of the American academy of political and Social Science. Edition Volume 610, no. 1. 2007. Pages 98-118. Date accessed: September 12, 2015.

Additional Resources

Casey Peek, Jose Palafox. “New World Border”.
Douglas S. Massey, Jorge Durand, Nolan J. Malone. Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in the Area of Economic Integration. U.S.A.: Rusell Sage Foundation.