When Mitt Romney said months ago that enforcing laws against employing illegal immigrants could lead to “self-deportation” by those workers, many critics scoffed.But according to a new Pew Hispanic Center study, that may be exactly what’s happening.Mexicans have stopped pouring into the United States, the study says, and the net numbers even indicate that they’re going back home. More than half of Mexican-born people in the U.S. are illegal, and Mexicans make up nearly 60 percent of all illegal immigrants here.Their migration, over 40 years, is the largest immigrant wave in terms of numbers in U.S. history.Many factors contribute to the reversal of net migration, according to the study, which analyzed government data from both countries. Among them are the weakened American job market, especially the construction industry; stepped-up border enforcement; a rise in deportations; greater danger crossing the border illegally; and a decline in Mexico’s birthrates.
November 19, 2020 08:32 PM
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