Determining the Causes and Durability of Transnational Labour Migration between Mexico and the United States: Some Empirical Findings

While the field of transnational migration studies is expanding, one important challenge is to broaden research from a mainly qualitative approach proving the existence of transnational migration phenomena toward efforts to quantify transnational migration and pay more attention to analysing its internal dynamics and interrelationships with other (ideal) types of migration. Based on a qualitative and quantitative empirical study of (trans)migrants moving between Puebla (Mexico) and the New York City region focused on the life and work trajectories of 648 individuals and on biographical life history interviews with about 40 Mexican migrants, the article is focused on analysing and explaining the number of trips as an important indicator for transnational migration (even if transmigration could be predominantly a subjective perception and practice without constant physical movement between countries). In order to establish the empirical existence of the transmigration phenomenon, a typology for distinguishing between different types of migrants is advanced and applied to those migrants captured in the survey. The influence of personal, familial, time‐, job‐, and community‐related factors on their decision‐making processes and the number of country trips are analysed. The empirical findings will be complemented by qualitative interview material to present the case of a transnationally organized family. This case study serves, first, to demonstrate that research on transmigrant household decision‐making strategies is complicated by the complexity of social and family networks, which make it difficult to clearly identify household units; second, it helps address the issue of the durability of the transmigration phenomenon by showing that transnational strategies can be adopted by family members over several generations, depending on individuals' changing needs and desires.