A four-decade tidal wave of Mexican immigration to the United States has receded, causing a historic shift in migration patterns as more Mexicans appear to be leaving the United States for Mexico than the other way around, according to a report from the Pew Hispanic Center.

It looks to be the first reversal in the trend since the Depression, and experts say that a declining Mexican birthrate and other factors may make it permanent. “I think the massive boom in Mexican immigration is over and I don’t think it will ever return to the numbers we saw in the 1990s and 2000s,” said Douglas Massey, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University and co-director of the Mexican Migration Project, which has been gathering data on the subject for 30 years.

Nearly 1.4 million Mexicans moved from the United States to Mexico between 2005 and 2010, double the number who did so a decade earlier. The number of Mexicans who moved to the United States during that period fell to less than half of the 3 million who came between 1995 and 2000.

The trend could have major political consequences, underscoring the delicate dance by the Republican and Democratic parties as they struggle with immigration policies and court the increasingly important Latino vote.

Huh, whoulda thunk an Obama Presidency would have been bad for the illegals?



  1. Publius says:

    Illegal emigrants?

    Next question: Who else going to follow them?

    Don’t drone me, bro

  2. sargasso_c says:

    Many have worked hard, led faultless lives in society and have been denied access to citizenship, basic health care and representation.

    • dusanmal says:

      I am legal immigrant and I needed to spend 8 years of my life and effort to get legal access to citizenship. What would be a point if you could just steal it bypassing all who properly wait in line.
      All health care that they could have paid for was there for them and than some. Whatever the health care system exists in their home country is typically orders of magnitude worse than what they got.
      They have all the representation in their own country of origin as the laws there permit.
      No illegal immigrant led faultless lives here. They started by violating the law and entering without permission. If they worked – they stole a job (someone would have it done if it needed to be done and no illegal immigrants were present… ). If they paid taxes – they stole someone’s identity. If they didn’t pay taxes – they stole public services we all pay for…. By your measure someone who broke in to your home and washed dishes should have immediate right to be on the papers as a part owner of the house. I don’t think you’d treat thief in your own house with same generosity.

      • Cursor_ says:

        And pray tell what country of origin did you come from?

        Cursor_

        • Thom says:

          Well, I can tell you one thing when my family came here from Europe no one spoke our language or wanted to (ie it wasn’t forced down anyone’s throats,) there were no programmes and handouts for our immigrants. You either worked like a dog, often being hated, kept out of crime and contributed to society IN ENGLISH and then and only then did you reap rewards. THAT is what America was when my people came here from Europe.

    • Moochie Bantonni says:

      Many? Isn’that what people are supposed to do.
      SO if you are Illegal and steal a job from an American or other legal person that means you can and should become a USA citizen? Really… So what if they have not done bad things as you say? Many, many more have not kept the law or been so called good citizens!! ! IN fact
      huge numbers have not and are responsible for “MANY” of the murders, crimes,Selling Drugs,
      having anchor babies, getting Free medical, food, housing, Social security, and “MANY” getting these nenefits and all the time working for cash under the table. If you watch the news or read the papers in any US city with a large Illegal immigrant population who do you see doing the majority of the Crime? What names come up most of the time? Juan, Jose, Miguel,
      Roberto, Angel,Pablo, on and on.

      What gives anyone who comes here illegally the right to be a USA citizen if they are good citizens as you say? The majority rake and rape the system for all they can and contribute little in return.Why is the system broke? To much going out to takers and freebies to Illegals and others. They fill the schools with thier kids and then bring their “family” over for more freebries that working American people have to support thru taxes.

      They need to go back and not fast enough. My Father used to say…” Figures don’t lie”, but…”liars figure”.

  3. bobbo, the pragmatic existential evangelical anti-theist says:

    Trends and factors? Lets keep tracking all this good stuff.

    One “model” for this could be that young mexicans come to USA to steal our jobs that no one wants to do because checking on legal status is too uncertain for employers and then when they have sent enough money home, they return to live the better life in Mexico that they bought by working in the USA.

    Could very easily be that the illegal immigration doesn’t really change in its negative impactful way as it matures and becomes established? Of course, declining job market, spotty enforcement, row crops being grown and flown in from other countries rather than grown here, Joe Arpio and many other factors always changing and playing their role.

    Why not say its the legalization of drugs in Mexico?

    Ha, ha.—lots of factors.

    …..course….comments from the ever constant douche-anal move me to be against legal immigration too. I’d prefer ten non-voting illegal Mexicans any day.

  4. GregAllen says:

    Are conservatives going to give Obama credit for this?

    I’m not holding my breath.

    • kiwini says:

      How’s this for credit, then?….

      Everything that The Anointed One promised he’d accomplish, while campaigning in the first frenzy, has NOT happened.

      Everything that he or his appointees have become involved with has become a bigger and/or more expensive problem.

      If nothing else, at least the man tries to be consistent. 🙂

    • jbenson2 says:

      So Obama destroys the U.S. economy which causes the illegal aliens to give up and go back home, and the conservatives are supposed to thank Obama?

  5. BigBoyBC says:

    Rats are always first to leave a sinking ship…

  6. NewfornatSux says:

    Economy doing poorly, EVerify, border fence, and the failure to pass an amnesty all helped. Obama is still promising an amnesty to Latino groups, and he has already passed one by executive order, but beyond that it doesn’t look like much will happen.

  7. Dallas says:

    During the Obama administration illegal aliens have dropped sharply. Is this the same pirate killing ninja who ordered Bin Laden shot in the face and saved the auto industry?

    • jbenson2 says:

      Yup, the same one who will be collecting unemployment checks after November.

    • Dallas says:

      Compare my factual, insightful comment to the rhetorical, worthless blather typical of the sheeple right.

  8. Angel H. Wong says:

    How long until the gringos head South of the border for a better life?

  9. Don says:

    The comments from right-wing loonies always disgust me. Why don’t you jingoistic right-wing patriots join the US Marines and fight the “terrorists” in some god-forsaken place? Just leave. Now.

    • Moochie Bantonni says:

      We are fighting the terrorist Politicians right here at HOME! The first to go will be OBAMA in November…then Polosi and the rest of the terrorists currently in charge. Both on the left and the right..

      They all sell out..every darn one of them.

    • LibertyLover says:

      I’m a veteran. I was in Beirut in October ’83.

      Does that count?

      Veterans for Ron Paul!

      • So what says:

        While I respect your service, you’re betting on a dead horse.

        • LibertyLover says:

          We’ll see . . .

          It was announced today that he won the plurality of delegates in MN, IA, and WA.

          And he’s currently sweeping up most of Santorum’s delegates and soon Gingrich’s.

          It’s looking better every day.

          • Dallas says:

            I for one admire you Ross Perot, I mean Ron Paul, hard core supporters.

            It’s great to see good old stand by your principles type. I salute you sir!

          • LibertyLover says:

            Just read a report on the MSM (hidden on page 423, of course) that said “unofficially” Paul has over 500 delegates and not what’s being reported on the 10 o’clock news. One can only hope . . . (real hope 🙂 )

            And he captured two more states today, putting him at 5: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Washington State. He’ll get on the ballot in Tampa now.

            FYI — Supposedly, Romney’s crew got in a shouting match with the Iowa GOP when a bunch of delegates refused to sign a pledge to support him in Tampa . . . just to get their picture taken!

            It’s getting better every day!

  10. southbound expat says:

    i am a permanent resident in a south american country. got under the wire after trying to deal with bureacracy with an amnesty program. now they’re making it difficult and costly for people to immigrate here. and want to land at any of the airports in these countries as a tourist with an american passport? get prepared to shell out around a $150 for each country

    to me all rules that have to do with immigration are artificial and arbitrary. americans and europeans will rue the day they were so spiteful and mean-spirited towards their fellow human beings. yes, i know i’m in the minority, but i don’t see myself as a nationality anymore, i see myself as a human being on equal status with anyone in sudan or vietnam.

    the factors that spurred the great migration northward in the last few years included many produced by institutions controlled by europe and the us: the imf and the world bank are just two examples, but if you start to look at the foreign policy and, to put it mildly, the meddlings of our governments that directly affected the lives of hundreds of millions, you might see migrations is a larger context, and drop the self-righteous “illegal” pronouncement. you might find yourself in an “illegal” corner you don’t know how to get out of and do something like that yourself.

  11. NewfornatSux says:

    Obama has instituted a defacto amnesty for some people. He is suing the state of Arizona for requiring business to use EVerify and cops to check immigration status of people they arrest.

  12. NewfornatSux says:

    “So we have to enforce our laws in a manner that will please Mexico. Is that what you’re saying?”
    “So you’re saying the government has a legitimate interest in not enforcing its laws?”

    Questions to Obama’s lawyer from the Supreme Court. If Obama has his way, there will be less enforcement of immigration laws.

    • LibertyLover says:

      It’s not just Obama. It’s the policy in general for the GOP and the DNC. Same policies, different rhetoric.

      This is why Arizona took matters into their own hands.

      • NewfornatSux says:

        Even the pro-amnesty Bush Admin modified it’s no-match letters to say stop employment until this is fixed. This would have made EVerify unnecessary. A federal judge stopped them.

  13. orion3014 says:

    I think checking out other nations laws/policies re: illegal immigration would be a good way to get a measure of how bad ours are…

  14. Mexicretin says:

    Mexicans even got a whiff of the Democrats spend, spend, spend, plans.

    AMF!

  15. GregAllen says:

    Of course, in c0nservative, fictional Obama world, he’s doing nothing about immigration and record numbers of illegals are coming here.

    In the real world, Obama is doing more to stem illegal immigration than either Reagan or Bush did.


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