Enforcement having impact on money to Mexico

NY Times:

For years, millions of Mexican migrants working in the United States have sent money back home to villages like this one, money that allows families to pay medical bills and school fees, build houses and buy clothes or, if they save enough, maybe start a tiny business.

But after years of strong increases, the amount of migrant money flowing to Mexico has stagnated. From 2000 to 2006, remittances grew to nearly $24 billion a year from $6.6 billion, rising more than 20 percent some years. In 2007, the increase so far has been less than 2 percent.

Migrants and migration experts say a flagging American economy and an enforcement campaign against illegal workers in the United States have persuaded some migrants not to try to cross the border illegally to look for work. Others have decided to return to Mexico. And many of those who are staying in the United States are sending less money home.

...

It is the enforcement particularly, employer enforcement which is pushing more jobs towards Americans. There is also tighter scrutiny of the mechanisms for sending money south. The NY Times has been trying to put the US in a recession for years despite a strong economy. With the performance of the Times and its stock, it is not surprising they think it is worse than it is.