ABSTRACT
Migration, once considered to have little political importance and relegated by governments to the care of consuls and clerks, has arrived as an openly acknowledged theme in the international relations of the Western Hemisphere. Inter-American population movements are now freighted with political, social, and economic consequences, including overall U.S. labor costs, public safety in San Salvador and Guatemala City, and the nature of political regimes in Cuba, Haiti, and elsewhere. Hemispheric governments, including that of the United States, have begun to recognize that their policies must address the significant benefits and penalties that are inextricably linked with migration.
