More Mexicans Leave the United States than Arrive, Say Its Not Better

The Pew Research Center analyzed data from the governments of Mexico and the USA, which show that the flow of Mexican immigrants has been reduced since the 1990s.

Though the new direction of Mexican migration has been noted in short-term reports in recent years, the Pew Research study released Thursday looked at a five-year pattern.

According to the study findings, one million Mexicans departed from the United States from 2009 to 2014, while a few 870,000 Mexicans have arrived. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau was used to determine how many Mexicans entered the United States during the specified time period, and data from two surveys performed in Mexico was used to determine how many Mexicans left the United States. The report says it was a combination of Mexicans’ desire to reunite with their families in Mexico; the sluggish US economic recovery, which made it harder for migrants to find jobs here; and stricter border enforcement.

More than 16m Mexican immigrants have migrated to the United States in the last 50 years, more than from any other country.

Over the past few years, the number of immigrants from Mexico living in the United States has dropped by more than a million to 11.7 million. There is no surge in illegal immigration from Mexico, instead there is a slow, but steady outflow, with more Mexican nationals departing than entering.

When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump launched his campaign this summer, he did so with a call to stem immigration from Mexico, which he said had exploded. Over 16 million Mexicans immigrated to the USA between 1965 and 2015, accounting for 28 percent of immigrants. Mexicans are by far the largest nationality among undocumented immigrants. Policies toughened even more after 9/11, with the Border Patrol doubling in size and the USA erecting hundreds of miles of fences, and Arizona led a backlash in state capitols as Mexicans moved beyond traditional destinations like Los Angeles and Chicago, settling in towns throughout the South and Midwest.

“We’re not likely to see a big increase in Mexican migration for the foreseeable future, if ever”, Ramakrishnan said.

However, 61 percent of migrants surveyed in the ENADID study said that family reunification was their top reason for leaving the US for Mexico. Still, about half (48 percent) of Mexicans residing in Mexico said they believed life to be better in the U.S. Pew estimates that the total population of unauthorized Mexican immigrants in the USA has declined by 1.3 million since 2007.