Understanding the size of the unauthorized Mexican population in the U.S. is crucial for developing adequate policies to address issues like health disparities, English-language education, and labor force needs, says Frank D. Bean, UCI sociology Chancellor’s Professor.  For the past six years, he has been working with Penn State researchers on methods to provide better estimates, finding that previous numbers underestimate the size of the Mexican-born population in the country during economic-boom periods.

“Previous estimates have not taken into account the changing demography of the U.S. working-age population and the fact that the different kinds of Mexican migrants who come during economic booms are harder to count,” he says, adding that their findings imply more work for unauthorized migrants is often available than sometimes thought.

“These trends underscore the importance of immigration reforms that provide ways for such workers and their families to come to the United States legally,” he says.

In July, Bean was awarded a $100,000 grant to further refine and update these numbers using birth and death registrations in conjunction with net migration methods based on both Mexican and U.S. data. The award is funded by the Office of Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security through a subcontract with the University of Arizona.  Working with him are Jennifer Van Hook, sociology professor at Pennsylvania State University, and former graduate student James Bachmeier, UCI sociology Ph.D. ’10 and sociology assistant professor at Temple University.

Funding will run through 2014.
 

connect with us

         

© UC Irvine School of Social Sciences - 3151 Social Sciences Plaza, Irvine, CA 92697-5100 - 949.824.2766