All across America, Mexican (im)migrants are working and contributing to the economic, cultural, and political life of local communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border. While there are benefits for the migrating workers and their families, and for U.S. employers and consumers, circular migration comes with costs, especially to family life. While migration between Mexico and the U.S. has become an increasingly important economic strategy for families, the very process that has provided for people’s livelihoods has often torn families apart. Through oral histories with workers, farm owners, and government officials on both sides of the border, this paper explores the creation of transnational families and communities, and the consequences of circular migration for women, men, and children.

Published as:Rose, Susan and Sarah Hiller. From Migrant Work to Community Transformation: Families Forming Transnational Communities in Peribán and Pennsylvania. Oral History Review 34, no. 1 (2007): 95-142. For more information on the published version, visit Oxford Journal's Website.

Susan Rose is a professor of Sociology at Dickinson College.

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