Is Mexico's 'secret economic boom' killing illegal immigration?

New research suggests incomes and quality of life are improving south of the border — discouraging Mexicans from illegally sneaking into the U.S.

As Mexico's economy begins to flourish, that arduous trek across the border has apparently become less enticing.
(Image credit: Bob Daemmrich/Corbis)

Illegal immigration may be a thriving political topic, but as a cross-border migration trend, it has "sputtered to a trickle," at least from Mexico, reports Damien Cave in The New York Times. And a growing body of research points to a surprising reason why: Income, employment prospects, and life in general is getting better in Mexico, making the arduous trek north less appealing. Officially, Mexico's per capita GDP has grown a sluggish 10 percent since 2000, notes economist Dean Baker. But has a "secret economic boom" ended the 30-year flow of Mexican migrants to El Norte?

There's nothing secret about this boom: Of course Mexico is an increasingly better place to live, says Matthew Yglesias at ThinkProgress. It isn't rich or particularly well-run, but thanks to its transition away from authoritarianism, and the superior access Mexican companies have to the lucrative U.S. market, Mexico is clearly "richer and better-governed than it was 20 years ago so people are less inclined to leave." The only surprise is that "these realities have tended to escape the debate in the United States."

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