Mexico Emigration and Immigration

Records of the Colonial Period (1492–1810)
The Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain, is the repository for Spanish documents dealing with the Spanish colonial period in the Americas. These documents often include the birthplace of each individual on record. You may want to look for your ancestor’s records in the following sections of the archive:


 * Informaciones de Méritos y Servicios de los Descubridores/Conquistadores (Information on Merits and Services of the Discoverers and Conquerors). Documents of the ships and passengers who sailed to the colonies during the early 1500s.


 * Casa de Contratación de las Indias (House of Contracts of the Indies). Excellent documentation of passenger lists for ships sailing to the American colonies between 1509 and 1701, as well as petitions and licenses for permission to emigrate from 1534 to 1790.
 * A digital index of Casa de Contratación de las Indias records as well as linked digital images are available online through Archivos Españoles en Red at http://pares.culturaydeporte.gob.es/inicio.html


 * Copies of ship passenger lists from the Casa de Contratación de las Indias for the years 1509 to 1599 are also available at the Family History Library:


 * Catálogo de Pasajeros a las Indias Durante los Siglos XVI, XVII Y XVIII (Catalog of Passengers to the Indies during the XVI, XVII and XVIII Centuries). Sevilla: S.N., 1940–. (FHL book 946 W2sa; microfilms 0277577–0277578.)

Immigration Background

 * European immigration to Mexico started with Hernán Cortez in 1521. Many Spaniards, looking for new opportunities and a better life, came to settle the new land. Indian villages, towns, and cities were overtaken or replaced by the Spanish.
 * During the colonial period, the kings of Spain tried, through legislation, to keep other Europeans away from Mexico.
 * After gaining independence, Mexico started to encourage more non-Spanish immigration. Mexico wanted the trade and industry that foreigners brought.
 * In 1824, a law was passed that offered land and security to non-Spanish foreigners.
 * Most immigrants arrived at the major port of Veracruz or crossed the United States’ border, some after arriving in Galveston.
 * Of those who came, the largest groups were those seeking the freedom to practice their religion. Among them were the Mennonites and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
 * Many people from Lebanon and Syria emigrated to Mexico in the early 1900s. During this same period, German, Polish, Chinese, Swedish, Italian, French, and British citizens also came in small groups, usually integrating into the community after a few years or a generation.

Emigration From Mexico

 * The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 set the boundaries between United States and Mexico. Since that period there has been a continual emigration from Mexico into the United States.
 * With the beginning of the Civil War, the need for laborers was felt by the southern plantations. As the slaves were freed, Mexican laborers began to do the work previously done by them. There were neither regulations nor border patrols until the late 1890s.
 * In the early 1900s, the system for obtaining migrant workers became more organized. Companies began setting up recruiters who arranged for the migrants’ travel and stay in the states. For example, in 1909 an official labor contract' was issued for 1,000 immigrant workers in California.
 * In 1910, the United States set up Immigration Services in the border towns.
 * During the Depression' many of the 'Mexican migrant workers went back to Mexico. But as the economy later improved, the migrant workers returned to the United States.

Online Records
Movimientos Migratorios Iberoamericanos

This site has gathered information about immigrants from throughout Latin America. It contains mostly information about immigrants from the 19th and 20th century. Information is available in both Spanish and English. The site is sponsored by the Spanish government.

Emigrante Libanés

Contains a database for Lebanese emigrants who sent to Mexico. Includes registration cards and some photos.

Immigration Into Mexico
The Family History Library has some passports from the Governmental Division of the National Archives in Mexico, however there is no index to this file:


 * Pasaportes, 1821–1873. (Passports, 1821–1873). Mexico D.F.: Archivo General de la Ciudad de México, 1988. (On 31 FHL films beginning with 1520483.)

Very few records that record immigration into Mexico have been identified. The immigration records that have been identified at the National Archive of Mexico are currently difficult to search. Those for the 20th century can be found by following these steps.

Use this link to the Guía General de Fondos en Línea or the catalog of records online for the Archivo General de la Nación de Mexico. Use this link to get to the immigration cards for foreigners in Mexico. Click on the following links on the left side of the page in the order given below. As you click on each link, the list will expand with more options.


 * 1) Archivo General de la nación
 * 2) Instituciones Gubernamentales época moderna y contemporánea
 * 3) Administracion Publica Federal S XX
 * 4) Secretaria de Gobernación Siglo XX
 * 5) Departamento de Migración
 * 6) Departamento de Migración 201
 * 7) Choose the nationality
 * 8) Choose a Caja
 * 9) Once you’re in a Caja you will see a list of names in alphabetical order.
 * 10) Click on the name of interest and you can see a summary of the information. You can order a copy of the original from the archive.

For a list of the different groups that immigrated into Mexico, see the "Minorities" section.

What Can Be Found in the Records

 * Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving or entering Mexico. These lists are usually found as passenger lists and records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrant’s name, age, occupation, destination, and place of residence or birthplace.
 * A passport usually includes a person’s name, physical description, nationality, occupation, birthplace, birth date, and spouse.
 * Other emigration sources include records of permission to emigrate, passenger lists, and immigrant arrivals. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ name, age, occupation, destination, and country of origin.

Border Crossing Records
Birder crossing records usually list the name, age, birth date, and birthplace of the immigrant, as well as the date of their crossing, their intended destination, and the names of others who may have been traveling with them. Some records include pictures. These records come in two forms: a short form (index card) and a manifest. If you find your ancestor in a short form record, be sure to try to locate the longer manifest.

The short forms usually contain the following information: 


 * Name
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Citizenship ("nationality")
 * Race Last place of residence
 * Destination
 * Port and date of admission
 * Status as immigrant or non immigrant.

The number annotated to the right of the person's name or gender is generally the "real" manifest number that is used, along with the date of arrival, to locate the person's statistical manifest--which contains additional information--in a separate series of card manifests. Sometimes, information was simply typewritten onto a blank card instead of a form.

The manifest usually contains the following information: 


 * Name
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Place of birth
 * Physical description
 * Occupation
 * Ability to read and write and in what language
 * Place of last permanent residence
 * Destination
 * Purpose for entering U.S.
 * Intention of becoming a U.S. citizen or of returning to the country of previous residence
 * Head tax status
 * Previous citizenship
 * Name and address of the friend or relative whom the alien intended to join
 * Persons accompanying the alien
 * Name and address of the alien's nearest relative or friend in the country from which he or she came
 * If the alien had ever been in the U.S. in the past, the dates and places of such residence or visitation are indicated.

Emigración e inmigración de México