Emigration from Mexico to US down by 25%

The New York Times today reports that census data from the Mexican government show a steep decline in emigration from Mexico to the US.

The recently released data show that about 226,000 fewer people emigrated from Mexico to other countries during the year that ended in August 2008 than during the previous year, a decline of 25 percent. All but a very small fraction of emigration, both legal and illegal, from Mexico is to the United States.

The article attributes the decline to the poor US job economy and lack of jobs for emigrants in the US. However, apparently there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of Mexicans returning to live in Mexico:

Still, at least 11 million illegal immigrants remain in the United States, the demographers say. Despite collapsing job markets in construction and other low-wage work, there has been no exodus among Mexicans living in the United States, the Mexican census figures show. About the same number of migrants — 450,000 — returned to Mexico in 2008 as in 2007.

Some commentators claim that the decrease is as a result of increased enforcement of immigration laws at the border and in the workplace. However, other sources in the article claim that enforcement is only a slight deterrent to Mexicans crossing illegally and that the poor job market is much more significant.