305 “The disadvantages faced by Mexican migrants, the challenges of their integration into US society, and the question of the rights due to noncitizens are at the core of the immigration debate in the United States.” Mexicans in the United States: In Pursuit of Inclusion ALEXANDRA DÉLANO ALONSO M exican migrants are the largest foreign- born group in the United States. Al- though immigration from Mexico has slowed since the 2008 economic crisis and more than 2 million undocumented migrants have been deported to Mexico in that same period, an esti- mated 12.2 million remained in the United States in 2015, representing 28 percent of the total im- migrant population. Including the US-born popu- lation of Mexican origin, the Mexican diaspora comprises 36.9 million people, the third largest in the United States after the German and Irish dia- sporas. Despite the size of this community and the long history of organizations and networks that have emerged over more than 160 years of mi- gration across the Mexico-US border, established by the treaties of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) and La Mesilla (1853), Mexicans are one of the most disadvantaged US immigrant groups in terms of socioeconomic mobility and access to citizen- ship. Compared with other immigrant groups and with the native population, Mexican immi- grants have higher levels of poverty, lower educa- tional levels, poorer health outcomes, and lower naturalization rates. These problems result from structural causes in Mexico and the US, including the fact that 5-6 million Mexican immigrants are undocumented. Their struggles generate nega- tive perceptions about Mexicans—and Latinos more generally—and raise concerns about their ability to fully participate as members of Ameri- can society. At the same time, the economic and political power of the Mexican diaspora is seen as a source of great opportunity by governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations on both sides of the border. Mexican workers and business owners are a vital part of the US economy and a key to the nation’s future economic growth. Meanwhile, the remittances they send home (amounting to $24 billion in 2014, or 2 percent of Mexico’s GDP) help millions of families in Mexico meet their basic needs. The strength of Mexican organizations in the United States, particularly hometown associa- tions, has been recognized by the Mexican govern- ment since the 1980s as a valuable asset for invest- ments in rural development projects in Mexico via collective remittances, as well as a source of politi- cal organization in both countries. In turn, Mexico has responded to pressure from migrants for reforms to expand their rights as dual citizens and for programs and institutions that ca- ter to their needs in the United States through the extensive Mexican consular infrastructure. As the largest group within the Latino population in the United States (constituting two-thirds of the US population of 55 million Latinos), Mexicans are also recognized as a powerful constituency by US political parties and advocacy groups. But they are still considered a “sleeping giant” whose full po- litical potential has yet to manifest itself. The disadvantages faced by Mexican migrants, the challenges of their integration into US society, and the question of the rights due to noncitizens are at the core of the immigration debate in the United States. These issues also guide the Mexi- can government’s policy toward Mexican migrants and its work with US institutions at the national, state, and local levels to protect migrants’ rights and give them access to information and services ALEXANDRA DÉLANO ALONSO is an assistant professor of global studies at The New School and the author of Mexico and Its Diaspora in the United States: Emigration Policies Since 1848 (Cambridge University Press, 2011).