Katharine M. Donato A Dynamic View of Mexican Migration to the United States Introduction For most of the twentieth century, the principal mechanism that has con- nected Mexico with the United States has been immigration northward. The idea of going north for opportunity has resulted in the arrival of many Mexicans without legal papers authorizing them to work. l It has also created a migration process that, by most accounts, is dynamic (Massey et al., 1994; Escobar Latapf et al., 1998). Therefore, as the determinants and consequences of migration have shifted over time, migration to the United States from Mexico has ebbed and flowed. During the same period, women's presence in international migration has changed and scholarship on gender and migration has improved (see International Migration Review, vol. 18, 1984; Simon and Brettell 1986; Gabaccia 1989, 1992; Pedraza 1991; Donato 1993; Kanaiaupuni 1998). Despite improvements, however, many questions remain about differences in the migration process of women and men from particular countries to the United States. This is especially true for Mexico, a nation that is the largest source of U.S. migration (Passel and Woodrow, 1987; Warren and Passel, 1987; U.S. Department of Justice, 1996), and has a long history of sending many more men than women to the United States (Donato, 1992). In this article, we examine the extent to which patterns of migration vary by legal status and community of origin over time, and emphasize how gender differ- entiates the processes of legal and undocumented migration. Throughout, the article speculates about specific contextual conditions, such as immigration policies or economic trends, that may explain the dynamic process of women's and men's Address correspondence to: Department of Sociology, Louisiana State University, 126 Stubbs Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, E-mail: kdonato@pabulum.lapop.lsu.edu.