Posted on 08/17/2005 12:37:19 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
MEXICO CITY - A survey reported Tuesday that nearly half of all Mexicans would like to live in the United States and that the sentiment seemed as strong among Mexico's college-educated middle class as the poor.
Some analysts said the results reflect the failure of the Mexican economy to provide good jobs and satisfactory wages, despite a decade of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Mexican government officials, however, attacked the report's conclusion as misleading and unrealistic.
'Propensity to migrate' In the survey of 1,200 Mexican adults, conducted in May by the Washington-based Pew Hispanic Center, 46 percent said they would like to live in the United States if they had the opportunity. Among college graduates, 35 percent said they would head north.
"Even at the high ends of the socioeconomic characteristics, we see that the propensity to migrate is quite strong," said Pew Hispanic Center Director Roberto Suro in Washington. "Mexico's economy doesn't satisfy their expectations."
The survey also concluded that 21 percent of Mexicans are inclined to work in the United States without proper entry documents.
A different story The survey drew fire from at least one analyst here, Daniel Lund, director of the Mexico City-based market research firm Mund Americas.
"It is one thing asking people in an abstract sense if they would prefer better wages," Lund said. "It's another seeing how many people are actually making the trip northward."
Lund said that his firm's own surveys have found that only 15 percent of Mexicans have a real desire to head to the U.S.
Salvador Berumen, a director at the Mexican government's Population Council, said the idea of half of Mexicans wanting to leave was alarmist and unfeasible.
"We understand immigration is a serious problem, but we shouldn't exaggerate the issue," Berumen said. " ... If half of the population wanted to leave, this country would be deserted."
According to the Population Council, 400,000 Mexicans, or less than 0.4 percent of the population, migrate to the United States every year. About 75 percent of these people enter the United States illegally, the council says. In July, the CIA estimated Mexico's population at 106 million.
Nearly 11 million illegal immigrants live in the United States, including about 6 million Mexicans, according to a recent report from the Pew Hispanic Center.
NAFTA effects negligible Many Mexican politicians hoped NAFTA, which went into effect in 1994, would raise wages.
But stiff competition from China, and a long-running depression in the Mexican agriculture sector, have kept unemployment high and wages low, said Monica Gambrill, an expert on the agreement at Mexico's National Autonomous University.
ibgrillo@yahoo.com
I would expect the same percentages from most other countries, too. America works.
If we don't somehow secure the border with military we need to annex Mexico and and break it up into like 3-4 states.
Hispanic views on migrants divided in U.S.
A majority of U.S.-born Hispanics say illegal immigrants should not be allowed to have driver's licenses.
Most foreign-born Hispanics in the country disagree.
WASHINGTON - A majority of Hispanics born in the United States don't think illegal Hispanic immigrants should be given driver's licenses, according to a new poll.
Most foreign-born Hispanics disagree, according to the polling for the Pew Hispanic Center.
Congress approved the REAL I.D. Act this year, which makes driver's licenses valid for a range of federal activities -- from boarding a plane to collecting Social Security benefits -- only if they are issued solely to U.S. citizens and legal immigrants. Several states, including Florida, already have laws to ban or restrict illegal immigrants from getting state identification cards and driver's licenses.
During Florida's 2004 legislative session, state senators rebuffed efforts to loosen regulations even though Gov. Jeb Bush had endorsed a proposal that would allow illegal immigrants to acquire driver's licenses after background checks in Florida and their home countries.
While the Pew poll found several areas of disagreement between foreign-born and native Hispanics, both groups showed high support for immigrants in general.
Six in 10 Hispanics born in this country approve of measures to prohibit illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses, while two-thirds born in another country disapprove of such measures.
The difference between foreign-born and native-born Hispanics on the driver's license issue highlights the disparity between the two groups on several issues.
Foreign-born Hispanics take a more positive view than native-born Hispanics on whether immigrants strengthen the United States.
Almost nine in 10 foreign-born Hispanics say immigrants strengthen the country, while two-thirds of Hispanics born in the U.S. feel that way, the poll showed.
''Among Latinos in the United States, there's a majority that views immigrants favorably, but there is a significant minority concerned about unauthorized immigration into the country and its impact,'' said Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center.
Two-thirds of Hispanics in the United States said undocumented migrants help the economy by providing low-cost labor. Again, foreign-born Hispanics were more upbeat.
Three-fourths in a Time poll of 503 Hispanic adults said people in the United States illegally are taking jobs that U.S. citizens don't want. The Time poll was taken from July 28 to Aug. 3.
The Pew study also looked at how Mexicans feel about trying to get into the United States.
Almost half of Mexicans, 46 percent, surveyed in May said they would go to the United States if they could. About two in five said they would be inclined to go without authorization. This was true of the middle class and well as the poor.
The survey of Hispanics in the United States was conducted for the Pew Hispanic Center June 14-27 by ICR and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
In Mexico, Pew surveyed 1,200 adults in May, and the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12399738.htm
I thought half of Mexico was already here.
I think Mexico should start handing over some of their resources to pay for their health care and education. I'm only half kidding.
And the other half is already here.
So, let them revolt successfully, and then apply for admission. Worked for some others. At least then we could tax them same as everyone else. And make them buy insurance along with giving them licenses.
And we would own ALL their oil.
I mean then we could tax them, teach them english, and make decent honest citizens out of them. Would be costly, but it would be almost self-financing as Americans could buy land down there, pay taxes, build schools etc all with local taxes.
Some of those mexican states have plenty of resources.
Would sure put V.Fox in a tough spot.
Let mexico keep the lower Jungle states, they can be a buffer against the bananna republics from below.
The Report LINKED from site above: (PDF file) Attitudes towards Immigrants and Immigration Policy: Surveys amoung U.S. Latinos and in Mexico
Yep, annexing Mexico to the US would make sense. They are coming here anyhow. If we made Mexico part of the US we would then have a smaller land border to defend.
I wondered along the same line.
Well... would be nice to take all of it and have a small land border to defend.
Ahhhh, but annex has such negative connotations, the French would be sure to object (sob).
But a UN supervised Plebiscite would shut everybody's mouth.
Of course, if you don't shut the border first, they can continue to have their cake and eat it too.
From the report LINKED in Post #11:
A majority of Mexicans (52% in February 54% in May) say they would be inclined to go to the United States through a temporary worker program that would require them to return to Mexico in some years and even greater majorities (68% in February and 71% in May) said their friends and relatives would be interested in participating.
It would be a great way of honoring the memory of those who died at the Alamo and during the Mexican-American War. Plus we'd get some of the world's best vacation spots in the bargain!
If we opened up the gates, half the entire world would show up on our doorstep.
Well, just looking at it from a realistic standpoint of security. if we had Mexico, badda big that whole "the border is to big to secure" mentality would be gone. we would have a whole new class of taxpayers not sure how they would break it up 3-4 states? could be a win-win
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