Mexican immigrants in New York take on all types of work to continue to support their families back home, especially in communities with soaring high school dropout rates and constant migration in the state of Puebla. Hundreds of youths from areas with high rates of migration want to move to the United States.

For many years, Puebla's Mixteca people [of indigenous descent] have been the ones most affected by migration. They were one of the first population groups to move to New York, starting in the 1970s.

A great task

Adán Lázaro is one of many Mexicans who arrived during the first wave of immigration from this region, which is made up of towns and villages. He maintained that towns like Chinantla, with the help of fellow immigrants, have tried to keep from being emptied out.

"We have made a lot of effort. We have been working with the local committee for many years to prevent our towns from becoming empty, but we can't stop a phenomenon that worsens during times of global crisis," said Lázaro. Along with other entrepreneurs from Chinantla, Puebla, he has organized occupational programs at education centers as well as other activities, with the goal of preventing young people from believing that leaving for the United States is their only solution.

A deserted town

Mexican entrepreneurs have also tried very hard to prevent school dropouts among the Mixteca people. Jaime Lucero, an entrepreneur in the textile industry, built a center in the area to help families learn occupational skills that allow them to live simply but without having to migrate. The efforts of Puebla's community have yielded positive results, but according to locals, there is nothing anyone can do when the global economy is sour and it is considered normal for many young people to try to find new ways to support themselves and their families.

"We want migration to stop and to provide our people with jobs so that they stay in our towns, but there is nothing to be done when there is a crisis as large as this one and so many people without work," said Lázaro, who, after 40 years of having lived in the Big Apple, is still connected to his Mixteca community in Puebla.