Destination Intentions of Unauthorized Mexican Border Crossers and Familial Ties to US Citizens

Drawing on random surveys of over 1,100 recently repatriated unauthorized Mexican migrants (the Migrant Border Crossing Study), we examine the relationships between individual-level factors and unauthorized migrants’ intended US destinations. We offer a novel approach for measuring a qualitatively distinct dimension of social ties relevant to the migration process: ties to family members with US citizenship. We find that social ties in respondents’ intended destinations and familial connections to US citizens are both significantly associated with variations in destination intentions. Ultimately, our results reveal how characteristics of social ties can differentially pattern a migration-related outcome.