Migration Should Be a Choice, Not a Necessity: An Analysis of the Impact of NAFTA on Mexican Migration to the U.S.

Abstract

It is debated between scholars whether the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1994 between Mexico, the United States and Canada was successful. Supporters of NAFTA will say that it brought economic prosperity to Mexico’s manufacturing industry and created millions of jobs. However, opponents of NAFTA will say that the successes of NAFTA came at the cost of the lower-working-class and the once protected agricultural industry. This article argues that the negative effects of NAFTA on the lower-working class consequently led to an increase in Mexico-US migration, since it has traditionally been of lower-working class character. Moreover, this article addresses specifically how NAFTA impacted migration patterns from Mexico to the United States, and how it ultimately affected the undocumented migration patterns we see today. I conclude that it is through a combination of factors that NAFTA is partially responsible for the increase of migration, as well as for the end of undocumented migration.