The fierce national debate over immigration reform legislation will return to center stage sometime after the inauguration of the new United States President in 2009. Organizing support for a pragmatic U.S. policy toward Mexico that benefits the U.S. economy and reduces migration pressures is critical.

During the last two years, Global Exchange has worked to forward the simple truth that any successful U.S. immigration policy must include genuine commitment to developing economic opportunities in Mexico that sustain communities and keep families intact and at home.

The Right to Stay Home: Alternatives to Mass Displacement and Forced Migration in North America seeks to begin a common sense conversation about the more than six million men, women, and children from Mexico who live in the undocumented legal twilight of American society.

This report brings together experts from Mexico and the United States who look closely at the roots of expanding Mexican migration to the United States and offers a wealth of ideas and proposals for addressing the profound social and economic imbalances that drive it.

The analysis, on-the-ground reporting, photographs, and proposals found in The Right to Stay Home aim to shed light on the origins of Mexico?s displacement crisis. Each of the individually authored selections provides context for current conditions and offers ideas on what we can do to move toward a continental economic equilibrium in which Mexicans have more real opportunities to prosper while staying home.

The Right to Stay at Home is part of a broad effort to refocus our badly skewed national priorities. How we respond to this challenge will have a dramatic impact on our future and on generations to come.

THE RIGHT TO STAY HOME: TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
Ted Lewis
A NRTH AMERICA THAT WORKS FOR ALL ITS PEOPLE
Jeff Faux
THE RIGHT TO STAY: Reactivate Agriculture, Retain the Population
Armando Bartra
EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS Instead of Displacement and Criminalization
David Bacon
TO REGENERATE WHAT IS OURS
Gustavo Esteva
NAFTA AND IMMIGRATION: Toward a Workable and Humane Integration
Laura Carlsen
CONTEMPLATING SOLUTIONS TO MIGRATION CHALLENGES
Bill Hing
MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT: Moving Beyond NAFTA
Amy ShanNn and Oscar Chac�n
REINVENTING THE TRADITIONS OF THE LOWER TRIQUI REGION
Mar�a Dolores Par�s
AGAINST THE CURRENT: Looking for Alternatives to Migration in the Mexican Countryside
John Gibler
A MEXICAN LABOR PERSPECTIVE on the Issues Facing Mexican Workers in the U.S.
Bertha Lujan with Daniel LaBotz
THE UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES OF DEEPENING INTEGRATION: NAFTA and Immigration
Gabriela Lemus