Immigration to Mexico

Over the centuries, Mexico has received millions of immigrants from the Europe, the Americas,and somewhat Asia. Today, millions of their descendants still live in the country.^{[citation needed]}

Immigration law and policy

Distribution of the national foreign population in Mexico in the year 2007.

Articles 30 and 33 of the Mexican Constitution specify that anyone who is not Mexican by birth (being born in Mexico, of at least one Mexican parent or on a Mexican-flagged ship or airplane) or by naturalization is a foreigner. Article 33 stipulates that all foreigners have the same civil rights protections that Mexican nationals do in the country.^[1]

There are three basic migratory visas for foreigners who wish to stay in Mexico. This first is a tourist visa called a FMT. For those looking to live in Mexico permanently or temporarily, There are the FM3 and the FM2. The FM3 is for those who wish to live in Mexico, but do not qualify as a long-term immigrant and are classed as no inmigrante visitante (visitor non-immigrant). There are various types of FM3 for professionals working in the country, exchange students and those living in Mexico but not working, such as retirees. The FM2 is for those classed as inmigrante rentista (longer term immigrant) and is similar to a United States Permanent Resident Card. For those carrying either of these visas, economic activities are strictly limited to those authorized by the document.^[2]

Mexicans have priority over foreigners under equality of circumstances for all classes of concessions and for all employment, positions, or commissions of the Government in which the status of citizenship is not indispensable. Foreigners can serve in the military only during wartime.^[3]

Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mexican companies have the right to acquire ownership of lands, waters, and their appurtenances, or to obtain concessions for the exploitation of mines or of waters.^[4] The Mexican government may grant this right to foreigners if they agree before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to invoke the protection of their own governments in any matters relating to the property they wish to buy. This is known as the Calvo Clause. This is generally done via a permit process. The 1917 Mexican constitution imposed restrictions on the purchase of land on those without Mexican citizenship. In particular, it prohibits direct ownership of real estate in what is known as the "restricted zone". This zone encompasses all land within 100 km of either Mexican land border and within 50 km of any Mexican coastline. Land 'purchases' in these areas can only be done via a mechanism called a fideicomiso, which roughly is a real estate trust, with a Mexican bank designated as the trustee and having possession of the land title. This mechanism was created to allow for foreign investment in these areas without violating the constitutional principle. The beneficiary of the trust, the foreigner, has all the rights to use, build and sell the property at its market buyer to any eligible buyer. These trusts have a term of 50 years and are renewable.^[1]

Immigrant groups in Mexico

Americans (U.S.)

The largest number of Americans outside the United States live in Mexico. According to American Citizens Abroad, there are more than 1,000,000 Americans living in Mexico (as of 1999).^[5] However, this number is disputed. Some estimates put the number as low as 124, 082. According to the 2000 census, there were 343,591 Americans living in Mexico. Mostly, people who come from the USA are students, retirees, or missionaries, pastors, and other employees from religious organizations. Also, professors who come employed from Mexican companies to teach English. The American community in Mexico is found in all over the country, but there are significative American presence in all the north of Mexico, especially in Tijuana, Mexicali, Los Cabos, Mazatlán, Saltillo, Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo. Also in the central parts of the country such as San Miguel Allende, Mexico City and Cuernavaca.

Argentines

According to the 2000 census, there were 6,465 Argentine immigrants living in the country,^[6] mostly in Mexico City. Aside from the expatriates, there are also Mexican-born citizens of Argentine descent.

In 2002 due to the financial crisis in Argentina many people immigrate from that country to Mexico, some sources stipulate that there were from 10,000 up to 200,000 Argentinians living in Mexico, although after the crisis most of them returned to Argentina.^{[citation needed]}

There is an estimate number of 8,443 immigrants of Argentina living in Mexico, they arrived as tourist and remain in the country. Making them the largest foreign community in Mexico after the USA citizens.^[7]

French

French is also heard in the state of Veracruz in the cities of Jicaltepec, San Rafael, Mentideros, and Los Altos, where the architecture and food is also very French^{[citation needed]}. These immigrants came from Haute-Saône département in France, especially from Champlitte and Bourgogne. Another important French group were the "Barcelonettes" from the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département, who migrated specifically to Mexico to find jobs and work in merchandising and are well known in Mexico City, Puebla, Veracruz and Yucatán^{[citation needed]}. Another important French village in Mexico is Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, where French language and culture/architecture are still found^{[citation needed]} The legacy of settlers brought in during the Napoleonic-era French occupation is found in Guadalajara, Jalisco^{[citation needed]}. The Second Mexican Empire, created another trend of refuge^{[citation needed]}. For the Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico from the Habsburg dynasty brought with him French, Austrian, and Belgian troops, and after the fall of the Second Empire, most scattered through the area of the Empire^{[citation needed]}. The descendants of these soldiers can be found in the state of Jalisco in the region called Los Altos de Jalisco and in many towns around this region and in Michoacán in cities like Coalcomán, Aguililla, Zamora, and Cotija^{[citation needed]}. These refugees intermixed with the Austrians, Galicians, Basques, Cantabrians, Italians, and Mexicans in those areas of Michoacán and Jalisco as well as neighboring states^{[citation needed]}. The Belgians, started by the veteran Ch. Loomans, tried to establish a Belgian colony in the state of Chihuahua called Nueva Bélgica, and hundreds of Belgian settlers established it, but many moved to the capital of the state and other towns around the area, where Walloon and French could be heard^{[citation needed]}. The Occitan language can be heard in the state of Guanajuato, it is also known as Langue D'oc is a language originally spoken in Southern France. According to the 2000 census, there were 5,723 Fench expatriates living in Mexico.

Irish

There are roughly 300,000 Mexicans of Irish descent^{[citation needed]}. Many Mexican Irish communities existed in Mexican Texas until the revolution^{[citation needed]}. Many Irish then sided with Catholic Mexico against Protestant pro-US elements^{[citation needed]}. The Batallón de San Patricio, a battalion of U.S. troops who deserted and fought alongside the Mexican Army against the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848^{[citation needed]}. In some cases, Irish immigrants or Americans left from California (the Irish Confederate army of Fort Yuma, Arizona during the U.S. Civil War in 1861)^{[citation needed]}. Álvaro Obregón (O'Brien) was president of Mexico during 1920-24 and Ciudad Obregón and its airport are named in his honor. Actor Anthony Quinn is another famous Mexican of Irish descent. There are also monuments in Mexico City paying tribute to those Irish who fought for Mexico in the 1800s^{[citation needed]}.

There is also an Irish-Mexican population in Hidalgo and the northern states^{[citation needed]}. According to the 2000 census, there were 192 Irish expatriates living in Mexico.

Italian

There has not been a huge influx of Italians to Mexico, as there has been to other countries in America such as Argentina, Brazil and the United States, however, there was an important number of arrivals from Northern Italy and Veneto in the late 19th century and are today well assimilated in Mexican society^{[citation needed]}. The exact number of Italian descendants is not known, but it is estimated that there around 30,000 Italian Mexicans in the eight original communities^{[citation needed]}. According to the 2000 census, there were 3,904 Italians living in Mexico.

Jews

Mexico is home to roughly 40,000 Jews.^[8] This is the third largest Jewish community in Latin America, after Argentina and Brazil respectively, and fifteenth largest in the world. The community includes an about even number of Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardi Jews, and a tiny number of other Jewish groups, including Mizrahim. The two main groups arrived in distinct waves of immigration commencing from the earliest years of Spanish colonization of Mexico. Some of these earliest Jewish immigrants to Mexico were Sephardic crypto-Jews, also known as marranos. They were Jews who made a nominal conversion to Christianity to escape persecution of the Spanish and Mexican Inquisitions, some of who practiced the Jewish religion in secret.

After World War II, thousands of Ashkenazi Jewish refugees settled in Mexico from Europe, bringing with them Yiddish. Since they came from various parts of Europe their dialects varied. Ladino is the traditional language of the Sephardic community. Other Jewish languages are the traditional languages of any other Jewish persons not belonging to the two major groups in Mexico today.

Monterrey's Jewish community is the eldest of the Jewish communities, maintaining its Sephardic traditions since colonial times when they escaped from the Inquisition. The gastronomy of the state, even the rate of circumcision, reflects the Jewish heritage in Monterrey.

Notable Jewish-Mexicans include:

• Marcos Moshinsky, physicist
• Frida Kahlo, painter (Jewish father)

Spaniards

Spaniards make up the largest group of Europeans in Mexico. Most of them arrived during the colonial period but others have since then immigrated, especially during the Spanish Civil War^{[citation needed]}. There are about 9-15 million people of unmixed Spanish ancestry and millions more with partial ancestry^{[citation needed]}.

The first Spaniards who arrived in Mexico, were soldiers and sailors of Extremadura, Andalucia and La Mancha discovered the Yucatán Peninsula, the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and then made the conquest of what they call the New Spain. Among the soldiers sent by the Spanish crown to the colonial territory were Muslims converts from Córdoba and Granada^{[citation needed]}. At the end of the sixteenth century, both common and aristocrat people migrated to Mexico and disseminated by its territory^{[citation needed]}.

Most recent immigrants came during Spanish Civil War. Some of the migrants returned to Spain after the civil war, but some of them remained in Mexico^{[citation needed]}. According to the 2000 census, there were 21,024 Spaniards living in Mexico.

Russian

According to the 2000 census, there were 1,293 Russians living in Mexico.^[9] Most left Russia during its communist regime, taking advantage of the Mexican law allowing migrants from communist countries refuge if they touch Mexican soil, and the ability to become legal residents of Mexico^{[citation needed]}.

German

A similar case is that of the Plautdietsch language, spoken by the descendants of German and Dutch Mennonite immigrants in the states of Chihuahua and Durango. Other German communities lie in Puebla, Mexico City, Sinaloa and Chiapas, with the largest German school outside of Germany being in Mexico City (Alexander von Humboldt school). These represent the large German populations where they still try to preserve the German culture (evident in its popular regional polka-like music types, conjunto and Norteno) and language. Other strong German communities lie in Nuevo León, Chiapas (Tapachula) and other parts of Puebla (Nuevo Necaxa) where the German culture and language have been preserved to different extents. According to the 2000 census, there were 5,595 Germans living in Mexico.

Of special interest is the settlement Villa Carlota: that was the name under which two German farming settlements, in the villages of Santa Elena and Pustunich in Yucatán, were founded during the Second Mexican Empire (1864-1867)^[10]. Villa Carlota attracted a total of 443 German-speaking immigrants, most of them were simple farmers and artisans who emigrated with their families: the majority came from Prussia and many among them were Protestants^[11]. Although in general these immigrants were well received by the hosting society, and the Imperial government honored to the extent of its capabilities the contract it offered to these farmers, the colonies collapsed in 1867^[12]. After the disintegration of Villa Carlota as such, some families migrated to other parts of the peninsular, into the United States and back to Germany. Many stayed, however, in Yucatán, where we can find descendents of these pioneers with last names such as Worbis, Dietrich and Sols, among others^[13] .

Many German settlements were started in Mexico^{[citation needed]}. In some, like the above mentioned Villa Carlota en Yucatán, in El Mirador, Veracruz, and another in the state of Tamaulipas, you can still find descendants of the German pioneers. Many have gained their German citizenship but prefer to remain in Mexico, though they still retain their Germanic culture in some ways^{[citation needed]}. The most successful of these German colonies was Soconusco where Tapachula is located in the southern state of Chiapas. In Nueva Alemania, there are houses of German settlers who came from northern Germany, mainly from Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck^{[citation needed]}. On the other hand, Germans from Veracruz came from Bavaria^{[citation needed]}. Another example of Black Forest architecture is the building of the German Cultural Center in San Luis Potosí, which was owned by the Baron of Baden-Baden^{[citation needed]}. Former Mexican president Vicente Fox is partly of German ancestry. His paternal grandfather, José Luis Fox Flach, was born Joseph Louis Fuchs in Cincinnati, United States, son of German Catholic immigrants Louis Fuchs and Catherina Elisabetha Flach. The Fuchs ('fox' in German) family changed the spelling of their last name to Fox after 1870^{[citation needed]}.

Scandinavian and Eastern European

Scandinavian languages and traditions can also be heard in Chihuahua, such as Swedish, Finnish Danish, and Norwegian in Nueva Escandinavia and other Scandinavian colonies in the north of the country. Russian is heard in the Baja California region of Valle de Guadalupe, thanks to the immigrants from southern Russia who settled these areas. They are the Molokans ("milk eaters"), and they preserve their culture in Baja California, with the architecture in their houses and museums, they produce fine wine (along with the large Italian community that lives near them) and their language and traditions, as well as dresses and festivities. Other Russians belong to a more recent wave of immigration from mainly Russia, Poland and the Ukraine along with other Eastern Europeans (Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania), who settle mainly in Mexico City years ago during the Cold War.

British

Cornish culture still survives in local architecture and food in the state of Hidalgo^{[citation needed]}. The Scottish and Welsh have also made their mark in Mexico, especially in the states of Hidalgo, Aguascalientes, and Veracruz^{[citation needed]}. British immigrants formed the first football teams in Mexico in the late 19th century^{[citation needed]}. Northern Spaniards of Celt ancestry like the Asturians, Galicians, and Cantabrians, have also left an imprint in Mexican culture and their languages formed many distinct accents in various regions in Mexico, especially in the central and northern states^{[citation needed]}. According to the 2000 census, there were 2,686 British expatriates living in Mexico.

Middle Eastern

The wave of Middle-Easterners, which included Armenians, Lebanese, and Syrians, came to Mexico in the early twentieth century and settled mainly in urban areas in Baja California and Sinaloa.^{[citation needed]} Ethnologue reports that 400,000 Mexicans speak Arabic.^[14]

The Lebanese in particular have settled in the urban areas such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Puebla^{[citation needed]}. The state of Coahuila in the north has a very diverse Middle Eastern population, including not only Christians but also Muslims from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan^{[citation needed]}. Other immigrants, in this case predominantly Muslims, included those from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The city of Torreón hosts the only Mosque in Mexico due to the notable number of Middle-Eastern Muslims that have settled there^{[citation needed]}.

After World War II, some Jewish immigrants arrived in Mexico from various countries of the Near East, bringing with them their own traditions and languages. Very few, however, were actually Mizrahi Jews^{[citation needed]}. Since they came from various parts of North Africa and the Middle East (including Turkey) with a history of Spanish Jewish settlement after the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, most were in fact Sephardic Jews^{[citation needed]}. Thus, most had Ladino as their traditional language, and the existing Sephardic and general Mexican Jewish community accepted them with open arms^{[citation needed]}. See also "Jews" section above.

Carlos Slim Helú is the best-known Mexican of this immigrant group. His parents immigrated to Mexico from Lebanon.

Asia

Young man of Chinese ancestry in Mexico City.

Asian groups which have settled in Mexico in significant numbers include Filipinos, Japanese and Chinese, and Koreans. The city of Mexicali in Baja California has the largest Chinese population in Mexico and the largest Chinatown called La Chinesca.^{[citation needed]} The culture and language from the mainly Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking peoples are evident in the food, architecture, and everyday life in Mexico City^{[citation needed]}. The Chinese entered the nation in the nineteenth century to build railroads, and many xenophobic acts were taken against them because Mexico preferred European immigrants.^{[citation needed]}. The Japanese community is also important in Mexico, and they reside mainly in Mexico City, Morelia, San Luis Potosí, Puebla, Guadalajara, and Aguascalientes, and their immigrant colony in the state of Chiapas called Colonia Enomoto.^{[citation needed]} The Japanese are very important in their cultural life in Mexico and many institutions for their descendants and those wishing to learn the language and their ways of life can attend these lyceums.^{[citation needed]} Koreans are a more recent wave of immigrants who came to Mexico in the early 1900s and most recently towards the end of the last century.^[15] There are approximately 200,000 (0.2%) Mexican people who can partly claim Filipino ancestry.^{[citation needed]} From colonial times the Philippines have had a close connection to Mexico, as it was administrated from New Spain for over 300 years, and commerce between these two countries was of an extremely significant importance to the Spanish crown.^{[citation needed]}.

Numbers of people by nationality in Mexico

A total of 176 nationalities are in Mexico.

This numbers reflect the legal immigrants since illegals are difficult to trace.^{[citation needed]}

Place	Country	2000	1990
1	United States	343,591	194,619
2	Guatemala	23,597	46,005
3	Spain	21,024	24,783
4	El Salvador	6,647	2,979
5	Argentina	6,465	4,964
6	Colombia	6,215	4,635
7	Canada	5,768	N/D
8	France	5,723	3,011
9	Germany	5,595	4,499
10	Cuba	5,537	5,217
11	Italy	3,904	N/D
12	Chile	3,848	N/D
13	Peru	3,749	N/D
14	Honduras	3,722	N/D
15	Japan	2,936	4,195
16	Venezuela	2,823	N/D
17	United Kingdom	2,686	N/D
18	Nicaragua	2,522	N/D
19	Brazil	2,320	N/D
20	Costa Rica	2,175	N/D
21	South Korea	2,100	N/D
22	China	2,001	N/D
23	Puerto Rico	1,750	N/D
24	Panama	1,638	N/D
25	Switzerland	1,478	N/D
27	Bolivia	1,378	N/D
28	Uruguay	1,326	N/D
29	Russia	1,293	N/D
30	Ecuador	1,287	N/D
31	Lebanon	1,143	N/D
32	Belize	1,093	N/D
33	Israel	993	N/D
34	Poland	971	N/D
35	Dominican Republic	850	N/D
36	Netherlands	773	N/D
37	Belgium	735	N/D
38	Austria	500	N/D
39	India	436	N/D
40	Sweden	425	N/D
41	Guam	374	N/D
42	Haiti	350	N/D
43	Philippines	322	N/D
44	Syria	319	N/D
45	Greece	298	N/D
46	Portugal	288	N/D
47	Australia	281	N/D
48	Romania	246	N/D
48	Turkey	246	N/D
49	Denmark	245	N/D
50	Hungary	239	N/D
51	Bulgaria	237	N/D
52	Czech Republic	225	N/D
53	Paraguay	223	N/D
54	Ukraine	220	N/D
55	Ireland	192	N/D
56	Iran	168	N/D
57	Morocco	156	N/D
58	Norway	134	N/D
59	Yugoslavia	129	N/D
60	Finland	126	N/D
61	Dominica	122	N/D
62	Saudi Arabia	116	N/D
63	Egypt	109	N/D
64	Grenada	107	N/D
65	Georgia	93	N/D
66	Algeria	88	N/D
67	Jamaica	82	N/D
68	Lithuania	78	N/D
69	New Zealand	77	N/D
70	South Africa	75	N/D
71	Indonesia	70	N/D
72	Palau	68	N/D
73	Croatia	62	N/D
74	Pakistan	58	N/D
75	Armenia	51	N/D
76	Jordan	45	N/D
77	Thailand	43	N/D
78	Singapore	42	N/D
79	Malaysia	41	N/D
80	Iraq	40	N/D
81	Angola	38	N/D
82	Vietnam	36	N/D
83	Saint Lucia	34	N/D
84	Slovenia	33	N/D
85	Nigeria	32	N/D
86	Sri Lanka	31	N/D
86	Saint Helena	31	N/D
87	Trinidad and Tobago	29	N/D
88	Slovakia	23	N/D
89	Kyrgyzstan	21	N/D
90	United Arab Emirates	20	N/D
91	Ethiopia	18	N/D
92	Bosnia and Herzegovina	18	N/D
92	Kenya	18	N/D
92	Tunisia	18	N/D
92	Latvia	18	N/D
93	Republic of the Congo	16	N/D
93	Iceland	16	N/D
94	Falkland Islands	15	N/D
94	Luxembourg	15	N/D
94	Azerbaijan	15	N/D
95	Netherlands Antilles	14	N/D
95	Cyprus	14	N/D
95	Ghana	14	N/D
95	Senegal	14	N/D
96	Guyana	12	N/D
96	Libya	12	N/D
97	Bangladesh	11	N/D
98	Cayman Islands	11	N/D
99	Antigua and Barbuda	10	N/D
100	Bahamas	10	N/D
101	Democratic Republic of the Congo	10	N/D
102	Afghanistan	9	N/D
103	Tanzania	9	N/D
104	Vatican City	9	N/D
105	Aruba	8	N/D
105	Albania	8	N/D
105	Kuwait	8	N/D
105	Moldova	8	N/D
106	Guinea	7	N/D
106	Macau	7	N/D
107	Mozambique	7	N/D
107	Estonia	7	N/D
107	Samoa	7	N/D
108	Mongolia	6	N/D
108	Suriname	6	N/D
108	Uganda	6	N/D
109	Comoros	5	N/D
109	Liberia	5	N/D
109	Mauritania	5	N/D
109	Mauritius	5	N/D
109	Tajikistan	5	N/D
110	Anguilla	4	N/D
110	Côte d'Ivoire	4	N/D
110	Cameroon	4	N/D
110	Gambia	4	N/D
110	Madagascar	4	N/D
110	Malta	4	N/D
110	Sudan	4	N/D
110	Zimbabwe	4	N/D
111	Andorra	3	N/D
111	Burundi	3	N/D
111	Monaco	3	N/D
111	Somalia	3	N/D
111	Seychelles	3	N/D
112	Burkina Faso	2	N/D
112	Eritrea	2	N/D
112	Fiji	2	N/D
112	Macedonia	2	N/D
112	Gabon	2	N/D
112	Equatorial Guinea	2	N/D
112	Cambodia	2	N/D
112	Malawi	2	N/D
112	Namibia	2	N/D
112	São Tomé and Príncipe	2	N/D
112	Togo	2	N/D
112	Belarus	2	N/D
112	Yemen	2	N/D
112	Zambia	2	N/D
113	Barbados	1	N/D
113	Brunei	1	N/D
113	Cape Verde	1	N/D
113	Guinea-Bissau	1	N/D
113	Laos	1	N/D
113	Liechtenstein	1	N/D
113	Lesotho	1	N/D
113	Maldives	1	N/D
113	Norfolk Island	1	N/D
113	Oman	1	N/D
113	Solomon Islands	1	N/D
113	Sierra Leone	1	N/D
113	Chad	1	N/D
113	Kazakhstan	1	N/D
113	Uzbekistan	1	N/D
113	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1	N/D
TOTAL		492,617	340,246
Source: INEGI (2000)[16] and CONAPO (1990)[17][18]

References

External links

• 2000 Census Data, INEGI

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