Mexican Immigration to US Drops Sharply, Study Reveals
The number of Mexican immigrants entering the United States over the five year period between 2005 and 2010 is equal to the number leaving the country and returning home, an analysis by Pew Hispanic Center reported.
The study shows that in the five year period about 1.4 million Mexicans immigrated to the United States and about 1.4 million Mexican immigrants and their U.S.-born children moved back to Mexico.
The figures stand in contrast with the period between 1995 and 2000, when nearly 3 million Mexicans immigrated to the United States, compared with only 700,000 who returned home from the U.S.
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According to the study, the latest figures represent the greatest reduction in net migration of Mexicans to the United States in two decades.
According to the center, in 2011 there were 6.1 million undocumented Mexican immigrants in the United States, a decrease compared to 2007, when it found that there were 7 million immigrants under the same conditions.
Also the number of Mexicans legalized increased modestly from 5.6 million in 2007 to 5.8 million in 2011, the study highlights.
Furthermore, the report indicates that the number of Mexicans apprehended trying to illegally cross the U.S. border has decreased by as much as 70 percent in recent years.
In 2005, there were more than a million Mexicans apprehended trying to cross the border illegally. This number drops sharply in 2011 when there were just 286,000 apprehended, according to the study.
It is estimated that in America there total 11.2 million undocumented immigrants, of which over half are from Mexico.
President Obama has promised to reform a bill that would give undocumented immigrants living in the United States an opportunity to become citizens, but so far he has not carried out the reform.
Republican Mitt Romney, meanwhile, has spoken in favor of drastic measures on immigration and has shown his support for the controversial Arizona immigration law that was implemented in 2010. This law will be analyzed by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, which will determine if Arizona abused its authority in implementing the law.
