Why do Mexican immigrants choose New York?

For the same reason that many Mexican immigrants find comfort and safety in densely populated Hispanic neighborhoods. Mexican immigrants settle in New York City because of the safety it provides.

“It sounds strange, but by the time I came to New York in the 1990s, once you got past the bust station or the airport, you really didn’t worry anymore…Older guys who were here in the 1970s told us that in those days, the place was crawling with immigration agents and they would raid your apartment, your workplace, the movie house. They’d hear about a fiesta and come around and bust it. They would pick you up on the street just for looking Mexican. But by the time I go to New York, the place was crawling with Mexicans and Central Americans, and it was clear that the migra had pretty much given up on the whole deal.”

– Luis (The World of Mexican Migrants, Judith Hellman)

Hellman goes on to comment that “…even though rent is higher and neighborhoods more dangerous, he feels safer that he can live amongst people from his own country whose behavior he can understand.”

The safety of New York City is not the only factor that attracts undocumented Mexican immigrants. New York City’s economy relies heavily on cheap labor provided by Mexican immigrants. Often, these immigrants are willing to take the dirty, low-paying jobs others will not. In the decades leading up to the 1970s, women, blacks and the youth population filled these jobs. However, as education levels have risen, these jobs have been opened up for Mexican immigrants.