Debacles on the Border: Five Decades of Fact-Free Immigration Policy

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Demography
• Public Policy

Background:

• The Mexican Migration Project (MMP) has collected data on documented and undocumented migrants since 1987.
• These data are publicly available for migration theory testing and policy evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review studies using MMP data to document the counterproductive effects of U.S. immigration and border policies.
• To analyze current border circumstances and the gap between policy and immigration realities.

Main Methods:

• Review of prior studies based on Mexican Migration Project data.
• Analysis of official statistics on border conditions.
• Synthesis of findings from related articles on immigration.

Main Results:

• Findings from MMP data have been consistently ignored by political leaders.
• U.S. policies continue to have widely documented, counterproductive effects on immigration.
• Undocumented Mexican migration to the U.S. ceased over a decade ago.

Conclusions:

• Current U.S. policies, such as border wall demands and criminalization of asylum seekers, transform humanitarian issues into immigration crises.
• There is a significant disconnect between U.S. policy objectives and the realities of international migration.
• Evidence-based findings are routinely disregarded in favor of ineffective and harmful policies.