24
Importantly, there has been a worrying increa-
se of six percentage points in long-termMexicanmi-
grants earning low incomes, which demonstrates the
difficulties entailed in themigratory experience during
the past decade and the relative declineof social con-
ditionsofMexicans in theUnitedStates.
AfterMexicans, AfricanAmericans have the se-
condhighestproportionof personswithan insufficient
income, with an increase of two percentage points
between2004 and2013, followed byCentral Ameri-
can immigrants, witha riseof four percentagepoints.
Conclusion
Although the compositionandoriginof immigration to
the United States has changed significantly in recent
decades,Mexicansarestill the largestpopulationgroup
in the United States. The high immigration rates of
Mexicans in the past forty yearsmean that they have
been distributed throughout theUnited States, mainly
inurbanareas, and traditional destination states.
Mexican residents are predominantly ages 18
to64, which has helpedoffset the decline in thewor-
kingagepopulation in theUnitedStates, although less
so than in the previous two decades. Mexican immi-
grants, mainly located at the base of the labor pyra-
mid, constitute the largest groupof foreignworkers.
Immigration status determines the exercise of
rights and access to economic and social benefits.
Mexicans also face disproportionately severe handi-
caps linked to their undocumented situation, which
deprives them of obtaining documented residence
and the acquisition of citizenship, which impacts the
households they head and the provision of rights and
opportunities for theirmembers.
migration & health •
mexican immigrants in the us: a 10 year perspective
