Southeast Mexico is undergoing rapid transformation as a result of international migration, yet little is known about this region's international migration processes or the social changes produced by migration. As the flow of migrants from Mexico to the United States continues to grow, so too do the misconceptions about many aspects of migrant behaviour, including how migrants reach the decision to migrate, the impact of US immigration policies on migrants, and the influence of ethnicity on migrants, among others. The mutability of migration flows are also poorly understood, especially in cases of ‘new’ migrant sending communities and nascent immigrant populations, as is the case of indigenous migration from the state of Yucatán.

This edited collection, Mayan Journeys: The New Migration from Yucatán to the United States, pays much-needed attention to this timely and important topic. The book will appeal to students of migration and economics generally, and particularly to those interested in immigration policy, migration and economic development, indigenous migration, and migration and social networks. Furthermore, the collection will hopefully capture the attention of policy makers in Mexico and the US who wish to have a deeper understanding of the pressing issues faced by communities with prominent migrant populations. But perhaps its most salient contribution is in its methodology. The study involved a bi-national field research team that interviewed active migrants and non-migrants; data on absent migrants were collected from family members. Data collection involved survey research, semi-structured interviews, in depth interviews with key informants, and ethnographic observations. With the exception of the editors, the contributors are all students, but the reader would not know that if that information had not been revealed in the preface. Each chapter is a robust, stand-alone study of a particular topic related to Yucatecan migration. Taken as a whole, the book provides a comprehensive, ethnographic view on the emergence and growth of a transnational community.

The first chapter introduces Yucatán as an emerging migrant-sending region, where international migration is supplanting regional migration. International migration drivers are discussed and compared to other Mexican migrant-sending regions. The second chapter describes in detail the community of Tunkás, the focus of the book. This rural Yucatec Maya community is experiencing its first generation of migration, yet already ‘migration to el norte is the defining characteristic of the town's social and economic life’ (p. 30). An economic history of Tunkás reveals that the town enjoyed economic growth and stability during the earlier part of the last century, a situation which discouraged people from participating in international migration. The origins of Tunkaseño migration coincide with a lack of adequately paid local job opportunities and a series of hurricanes that have destroyed local agriculture. By the 1990s, a ‘culture of migration’ had been established. Today, 38% of households have some experience with out migration (p. 44).

Following these introductory chapters, the discussion shifts to the contemporary migration process in Tunkás (chapter three), and the interface between internal and international migration (chapter four). Tunkaseño migrants, typically married males in their 30s, arrive at their US destinations via transnational social networks which are ‘the key to border crossing and coping with life in the United States’ (p. 68). Despite the agricultural roots of Tunkaseños, the majority of migrants are employed in non-agricultural jobs, principally in the service sector. Internal migration to Cancun and surrounds are described as ‘training schools’ for international migrants. The authors argue that ‘migrants learn how to successfully navigate an environment that is comparable to the United States in many ways’ (p. 82), including learning how to manage money and developing language skills.

The researchers then follow the migrants to the United States where the impacts of US immigration policies on migration behaviour are examined (chapter five) and Tunkaseño settlement in the US is explored (chapter six). The evidence from Tunkaseño migration to the US shows that stepped-up border enforcement, worksite enforcement, and awareness of the physical dangers of border crossing are ineffective measures against illegal immigration. Instead, these obstacles have encouraged longer stays in the US. Furthermore, the number of Tunkaseño settlers is growing, especially as female migration and whole-family migration intensifies.

Despite the many attractions that international migration holds, a large sector of the population of Tunkás has never migrated and has no intention of doing so. Stay-at-homes (chapter seven) cite family ties and the social costs of adaptation as the main reasons why migration is not an option. Local economic development has not benefited from migration (chapter eight). Households that receive remittances use them primarily to cover household expenses.

The remaining chapters address various topics: ethnicity, religion, health and political participation (chapters nine to twelve). The recentness of Tunkaseño emigration makes it difficult to say much about these topics, other than to narrate a descriptive account of each subject. The chapters are more ethnographic snapshots of Tunkás than analytical explanations about complex issues. An exception lies with the discussion on the creation of political binationals and Tunkaseño migrants' interest in US naturalisation (chapter twelve), where an elegant logistic regression analysis helps the authors predict migrants' political views.

Despite the methodological strengths already described, the study is lacking in one major area. Few contributors include a gendered view on the migration process (although chapters three and six do devote small sections to this topic). Gender is taken into account as an ‘add in’ rather than a central organising principle in migrants' decision-making behaviour. However, Yucatec Maya gender ideology can play a decisive role in economic behaviour, including migration (see Bever 2002, A Socioeconomic Profile of Yucatec Maya Families in Migrating and Non-migrating Households. Research in Economic Anthropology, vol. 21, pp. 187–220).

The editors include a very useful appendix (the survey questionnaire), though additional appendices would have been helpful, such as a list of acronyms, definition of terms, and an explanation of statistical analyses employed. Since this book is the second in a series of volumes on Mexican migration, inclusion of these materials would have strengthened the comparability of the studies. These are minor shortcomings, however, and overall it is exciting to see such an opportune and comprehensive volume about the changing face of Mexican migrants.