Beyond Borders: Understanding Perceptions of Undocumented Immigration among Non-Migrants within the United States and Mexico

This paper gains an understanding of the perceptions of migration among non-migrants within the United States and Mexico. Given the politicization and relevancy of migration in contemporary politics, a deeper sociological analysis is important to understand if perceptions from a migrant-receiving and a migrant-sending country are similar or different and to understand the motivations of these perceptions. This study utilizes quantitative data from the World Values Survey that asked questions centered around policy preferences for migration. Additionally, qualitative interviews were conducted with both American citizens and Mexican citizens with questions centered around perceptions of migration within their country, perceptions of United States-Mexico migration, and their general perceptions of the economic reliance between both countries. The analysis of this data has shown a strong correlation between one's home country and their perspective on migration. Both Americans and Mexicans have liberal attitudes about migration but have a slight variation in responses. Americans tend to favor surveillance, legality, and security. Additionally, Americans had a lack of a holistic understanding of migrant motivations. Mexican participants responded to questions with more of an emphasis on empathy and a comprehensive understanding of the push and pull factors that drive migration. Both countries agreed that the United States and Mexico have economic interdependence and agreed that Mexico has a higher reliance on the United States. However, American respondents viewed the reliance between both countries as lower than Mexican respondents. The study concludes that historical, economic, political, and geographic factors have a strong influence on perceptions of migration and these factors vary depending on one's country of origin.