" Another factor that resulted in increased Mexican immigration was the maquiladora. A 
maquiladora is a “Mexican manufacturing or assembly plant owned or sponsored by a foreign 
country” (Williams, 2002). Under the maquiladora program, materials and equipment are 
imported duty-free for assembly or manufacturing provided that they are re-exported. The 
receiving company then pays a small value-added tariff equivalent to the computed value of the 
work done in the maquiladora (Williams, 2002). Given the low wages paid in Mexican factories, 
this arrangement proved to be quite profitable for American companies. The maquiladora 
program also proved beneficial to Mexico and her citizens as it created millions of jobs (source: 

http://www.maquilaportal.com). "


" Ward et al. (2004) have investigated the relationship between land and housing market performance and lot title regularization in several colonias outside Rio Grande City, Starr County, Texas. Specifically, these researchers investigated the effect on land prices of a title regularization initiative to clear property titles of very poor households as an intervention implemented by the Community Resources Group (CRG) Receivership Program. The CRG is a non-governmental organization commissioned by the State of Texas to undertake title regularization in 15 colonias outside Rio Grande City. For their study, the authors formed two sample groups. A “study group” which consisted of those families who had no titles or who had experienced major difficulties associated with their titles or residence and who ultimately received titles as a result of the CRG intervention. Also, the researchers formed a “control group” consisting of resident households who had not experienced serious title problems and, therefore, were not affected by the CRG intervention. The researchers found that the provision of formal property titles as part of a policy to regularize land titles appears to have an insignificant influence upon market performance or upon land prices. Instead, it is sweat equity (sweat equity is the contribution made to a project by people who contribute their time and effort), resulting in housing improvement, that raises the property value and which gives rise to some equity creation and to potential wealth creation for the lot purchaser. "

source: 

FRANK MARTINEZ III, M.A.

Las colonias de la frontera: A study of substandard housing settlements along the Texas-Mexico border

Dissertation describes the history of Mexican immigration from the 19th century through to the Bracero program, the differences between colonias in the states that border Mexico and the history of policies that shaped the proliferation of colonias.