Mexican migration to US in steep decline
Census data from the Mexican government indicate an extraordinary decline in the number of Mexican immigrants going to the United States.It also coincided with increased enforcement by the US at the work site which sent a message that jobs that had been available to them in the past were now being scrutinized as never before. Other law enforcement activity caused self deportation, by many here illegally.The recently released data show that about 226,000 fewer people emigrated from Mexico to other countries during the year that ended in August 2008 than during the previous year, a decline of 25 percent. All but a very small fraction of emigration, both legal and illegal, from Mexico is to the United States.
Because of surging immigration, the Mexican-born population in the United States has grown steeply year after year since the early 1990s, dipping briefly only after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, census data in both countries show.
Mexican and American researchers say that the current decline, which has also been manifested in a decrease in arrests along the border, is largely a result of Mexicans’ deciding to delay illegal crossings because of the lack of jobs in the ailing American economy.
The trend emerged clearly with the onset of the recession and, demographers say, provides new evidence that illegal immigrants from Mexico, by far the biggest source of unauthorized migration to the United States, are drawn by jobs and respond to a sinking labor market by staying away.
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I suspect that some of the abandoned homes in the foreclosure crisis were those of illegals who walked away on their way back to Mexico. This exacerbated the the financial meltdown. It raises questions about why they were given loans to begin with, but there were many legal residents who were also given home loans they could not afford too.
The good news is that we appear to be getting control of our borders. That is no small thing and it can lead to other reforms where the flow of immigrants can be regulated whether for short term jobs in agriculture or long term jobs in other areas.
Enforcement of law is NOT the reason that Mexicans are staying away. I read the NYT article and how the Feds want to take credit for the decline. Crap! The Mexican laborers can't get jobs because the jobs that were to "lowly" for Americans are now being filled by Americans that have no other choice. Why would someone hire an illegal unless that was their only choice? Answer: They wouldn't, they'd hire Americans. The Feds just want to provide cover for their Nazi power grab and use the decline to prove Gestapo tactics work.
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