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Mexican migrants have formed more than 600 registered hometown associations all over the U.S., especially in Los Angeles and Chicago. Their primary purpose, which they are increasingly fulfilling, is to help their towns of origin with collective investment in their community of remittances they send from the U.S. while encouraging the Mexican government to match funds. A recent report notes the larger federations are increasingly able to hold the Mexican government accountable for how the funds are spent in support of productive projects and infrastructure in their hometowns. Through brief essays, this report explores different ways Mexican migrants to the U.S. are engaging politically and civically in both countries, including participation in labor, community and religious organizations, the media, traditional Latino organizations and the Mexican and U.S. political systems. It contrasts the focus of traditional U.S. Latino organizations on civil rights and access to healthcare and education with migrant organizations’ interest in binational issues and on immigrant access to schooling and medical care.

Source: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Mexico Institute, “Invisible No More: Mexican Migrant Civic Participation in the United States,” August 17, 2006, http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=5949&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=196833