| | |  Americas & Beyond | July 2009 
Number of Mexican Immigrants Dips in U.S.
 Statesman
go to original
July 31, 2009
| | (Edel Rodriguez) | |
The number of Mexican immigrants crossing the border into the U.S. hit a 10-year low in the past year, but those already living in the nation appear to be staying put, according to a new report by the Pew Hispanic Center.
The report is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey, Mexico's National Survey of Employment and Occupation, and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The study estimates that immigrants arriving in the U.S. from Mexico dipped by 249,000 from March 2008 to March 2009, a decline of about 40 percent from the previous year.
Marion County has seen a much smaller drop in the number of Mexican immigrants moving into the area.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of immigrants arriving in Marion County fell from 12,930 in the last decade to 12,087, down nearly 7 percent.
"One of the reasons Oregon and Marion County are a big draw for Mexican immigrants is agriculture, and the major Interstate 5 corridor," said Charles Rynerson, a demographer with the Population Research Center at Portland State University.
The Pew study points to a faltering U.S. economy and high unemployment as the reason fewer Mexicans are entering the U.S., many of whom enter illegally.
The report also found that the total population of unauthorized Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. dropped to 11.5 million from 11.6 million in the past year.
Oregon's share of the total Mexican immigrant population in the U.S. is about 1 percent, or 160,630, which is not much different than its share of the total U.S. population, the Census shows.
Nationally, Oregon ranks 12th in the number of Mexican immigrants who have obtained permanent legal residency status, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security figures.
Separately, the Pew study found that the number of Mexican immigrants returning to Mexico remains mostly unchanged, at about 450,000.
The Pew finding differs from a 2008 study by the Center for Immigration Studies, which reported that roughly 1 million Mexican immigrants have returned to Mexico because of enforcement and the economy.
The Pew findings come as the Obama administration has pledged to address immigration this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Key findings
• About 1 in 10 people born in Mexico currently live in the U.S.
• Mexican immigrants account for 32 percent of all foreign-born people in the U.S. and 66 percent of all Hispanic immigrants.
• Between 80 percent and 85 percent of Mexican immigrants who have been in the U.S. for less than a decade are unauthorized.
• In 2008, the number of Mexicans apprehended by the Patrol Patrol — 662,000 — was 40 percent below the peak of 1.1 million in 2004.
• The total number of Border Patrol apprehensions in 2008 — 724,000 — was the lowest level since 1973.
SOURCE: Pew Hispanic Center |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us