Op-Ed in todays NY Times says that the rate of illegals coming from Mexico hasn't increased, it's the rate of illegals staying rather than going back home, due to increased enforcement at the borders.
nytimes.com
This is consistent with what I've read about other historical periods of immigration crack-down. They don't really want to stay, they want to work and go back home but if it's too hard to go back home, they'll stay.
amazon.com
That's why the guest worker program is suggested -- it deals with the cultural realities of the people involved.
At least, the Mexicans. Which make up between 55% and 70%, not "almost all". (My sense is that it's closer to 50-55%.) The first linked article says that in the early 80s about half went back home within the first year, by 2000 just 25%.
Which makes sense. It's too damned expensive to live here. They can live very well in their own country, but they need a nut, a nest egg, to buy property or get a business going first.
Some, of course, want to stay here, because they're freer here.
It will be interesting to see whether Chinese start going back home now that they're starting to suffer a labor shortage. And then, who knows, guest workers in China? |
