Rafael Alarcon
Rafael Alarcón Acosta is research professor in the Department of Social Studies at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Tijuana, Mexico and holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2022, he was distinguished as National Emeritus Researcher by Mexico’s National System of Researchers (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores) and has been a visiting professor at the University of California in Los Angeles and San Diego, the Universidad de Valencia, the Université París Diderot, París 7, Columbia University and The City University of New York.
As a specialist on international migration, throughout more than 30 years, he has conducted and published research on: 1) the economic and social effects of migration in Mexico and the United States, 2) the integration of immigrants, 3) the immigration policies regarding skilled persons and 4) the criminalization and deportation of Mexican migrants from the United States.
In collaboration with Luis Escala and Olga Odgers, he coauthored the book: Making Los Angeles Home. The Integration of Mexican Immigrants in the United States (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2016), that is a translation and a revised version of: Mudando el hogar al Norte. Trayectorias de integración de los inmigrantes mexicanos en Los Ángeles. (México: El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, 2012).
He is also the co-editor of the book: Recession Without Borders: Mexican Migrants Confront the Economic Downturn, (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2011) with David Scott Fitzgerald and Leah Muse-Orlinoff. He coauthored the book: Return to Aztlan. The Social Process of International Migration from Western Mexico (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987) with Douglas Massey, Jorge Durand and Humberto González.
As a specialist on international migration, throughout more than 30 years, he has conducted and published research on: 1) the economic and social effects of migration in Mexico and the United States, 2) the integration of immigrants, 3) the immigration policies regarding skilled persons and 4) the criminalization and deportation of Mexican migrants from the United States.
In collaboration with Luis Escala and Olga Odgers, he coauthored the book: Making Los Angeles Home. The Integration of Mexican Immigrants in the United States (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2016), that is a translation and a revised version of: Mudando el hogar al Norte. Trayectorias de integración de los inmigrantes mexicanos en Los Ángeles. (México: El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, 2012).
He is also the co-editor of the book: Recession Without Borders: Mexican Migrants Confront the Economic Downturn, (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2011) with David Scott Fitzgerald and Leah Muse-Orlinoff. He coauthored the book: Return to Aztlan. The Social Process of International Migration from Western Mexico (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987) with Douglas Massey, Jorge Durand and Humberto González.
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Books by Rafael Alarcon
Mexicans on both sides of the border? This volume
answers that question, drawing on a 2010 study of the
migrant source community of Tlacuitapa, Jalisco, and its
satellite communities in Oklahoma City and the San
Francisco Bay Area. A survey of more than 850 adults and
scores of in-depth interviews yield a rich picture of not only
how migrants and their families in Mexico are managing
with fewer dollars, but also how US immigration and
economic policies affect their everyday lives.
Papers by Rafael Alarcon
desde el interior de Estados Unidos durante el primer semestre de la segunda administración de Trump (2025-2029). Su objetivo central es analizar hasta qué punto este gobierno está logrando arrestar y deportar a “migrantes criminales” en los volúmenes y términos que prometió durante la campaña presidencial, con particular atención en el caso de los migrantes mexicanos. La metodología se basa en la construcción de una línea de base histórica de deportaciones en los últimos 25 años. A partir de este contexto y ante la ausencia de información gubernamental sobre deportaciones recientes, se utiliza la base de datos del Deportation Data Project para analizar los arrestos de migrantes durante el primer semestre de 2025. Los resultados indican un crecimiento acelerado de los arrestos, que sin embargo contradicen el discurso gubernamental de priorizar la deportación de migrantes con antecedentes criminales.
Keywords: migration, deportation, alcoholism, México, United States.
En este artículo se analizan los factores legislativos, sociales y económicos que explican por qué un alto número de ciudadanos mexicanos han sido deportados formalmente de Estados Unidos bajo la acusación de conducir un vehículo bajo la influencia del alcohol. Para este fin, se analiza la transformación de la política de inmigración de Estados Unidos para examinar, a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas, los procesos de deportación de 23 hombres mexicanos que fueron expulsados a Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México acusados de este delito en 2019. Los hallazgos revelan que los entrevistados tenían distintos niveles de consumo de alcohol y que la mayoría había iniciado dicha práctica en ese país. Se evidencia el papel protagónico de ofíciales de policías locales que actúan como “policías de inmigración” y el que a mayor tiempo de residencia de los inmigrantes en Estados Unidos mayor es la propensión a tener comportamientos de riesgo como el abuso del alcohol.
Abstract
This article analyzes the legislative, social, and economic factors that explain why a high number of Mexican citizens have been removed from the United States under the accusation of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. To this end, the recent transformation of United States immigration policy is analyzed to examine, through semi-structured interviews, the deportation processes of 23 Mexican men who were expelled to Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico accused of this crime in 2019. The findings reveal that the interviewees had different levels of alcohol consumption and that most of them had started this practice in the United States. On the other hand, there is evidence of the leading role of local police officers acting as “immigration police” and that the longer immigrants reside in the United States, the greater their propensity to engage in risky behaviors such as alcohol abuse.