[gwnn]

The Romanian economy soared in the mid-noughties thanks to the money received from 1M+ emigrants to Italy and 500k+ to Spain (total population was ~21M). I don't know if Spain or Italy were significantly damaged by this effect, I guess they were slightly. I think they were more concerned by rising crime rates, blamed largely on immigrants and often specifically Romanians. I don't know what % work illegally or if it matters.

[barmar]

kenberg, on 2011-June-29, 18:39, said:

This is, largely, my point. We could stop it, we don't, I guess we like to scream about it but not stop it.

This is just one of many examples of why our government is so ineffective these days. Most of what they do is political posturing and symbolic gestures, relatively little in the way of real solutions to problems. And many of the "problems" they claim to be addressing aren't really problems.

For instance, even if they pass an immigration reform bill, they're likely not to provide enough funding for significant enforcement.

[y66]

From Damien Cave's story in today's NYT:

Quote

AGUA NEGRA, Mexico — The extraordinary Mexican migration that delivered millions of illegal immigrants to the United States over the past 30 years has sputtered to a trickle, and research points to a surprising cause: unheralded changes in Mexico that have made staying home more attractive.

A growing body of evidence suggests that a mix of developments — expanding economic and educational opportunities, rising border crime and shrinking families — are suppressing illegal traffic as much as economic slowdowns or immigrant crackdowns in the United States.

Here in the red-earth highlands of Jalisco, one of Mexico’s top three states for emigration over the past century, a new dynamic has emerged. For a typical rural family like the Orozcos, heading to El Norte without papers is no longer an inevitable rite of passage. Instead, their homes are filling up with returning relatives; older brothers who once crossed illegally are awaiting visas; and the youngest Orozcos are staying put.

“I’m not going to go to the States because I’m more concerned with my studies,” said Angel Orozco, 18. Indeed, at the new technological institute where he is earning a degree in industrial engineering, all the students in a recent class said they were better educated than their parents — and that they planned to stay in Mexico rather than go to the United States.

Douglas S. Massey, co-director of the Mexican Migration Project at Princeton, an extensive, long-term survey in Mexican emigration hubs, said his research showed that interest in heading to the United States for the first time had fallen to its lowest level since at least the 1950s. “No one wants to hear it, but the flow has already stopped,” Mr. Massey said, referring to illegal traffic. “For the first time in 60 years, the net traffic has gone to zero and is probably a little bit negative.”

The decline in illegal immigration, from a country responsible for roughly 6 of every 10 illegal immigrants in the United States, is stark. The Mexican census recently discovered four million more people in Mexico than had been projected, which officials attributed to a sharp decline in emigration.

[luke warm]

if the ones here tried to go back, i wonder if mexico would try to stop them... i know they're pretty tough on immigration at their southern border

[Bbradley62]

luke warm, on 2011-July-06, 14:00, said:

if the ones here tried to go back, i wonder if mexico would try to stop them... i know they're pretty tough on immigration at their southern border

I'm sure enforcement is different at their southern and northern borders, just like it is (and/or is proposed to be) for the US southern and northern borders.

[mike777]

Yes I have met hundreds if not thousands of illegal immigrants over the decades.


Wierd many posters have not!

Usa has roughly 15-20 million illegals..no one knows best number.


I have posted my bias/wishes many times on this forum.