For the First Time in Four Decades, More Mexican Immigrants Leave U.S. Than Enter

Revelation 6:5,6 NCV When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse, and its rider held a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard something that sounded like a voice coming from the middle of the four living creatures. The voice said, "A quart of wheat for a day's pay, and three quarts of barley for a day's pay, and do not damage the olive oil and wine!"

The Pew Research Center reported Thursday that more Mexican immigrants are crossing the border to leave the U.S. rather than enter it.

USA Today states that an estimated 870,000 Mexican immigrants entered the United States from 2009 to 2014, but 1 million returned to Mexico, including American-born children. The reasons for the historic shift include reuniting with family, the Great Recession in the United States that made looking for a job extremely difficult, tighter border security, and the fact that Mexico’s economy is improving, according to Mark Hugo Lopez, the director of Hispanic research at the center.

Deportation also has a hand in these statistics, but only 14% of the 1 million were deported.

And while a lot of Mexican immigrants reportedly stated that family was the main reason for leaving, Dowell Myers, a public policy professor at the University of Southern California, told CBS News that the lack of jobs in the United States is the main reason for Mexican immigrants to leave, not family.

“It’s not like all of a sudden they decided they missed their mothers,” Myers said. “The fact is, our recovery from the Great Recession has been miserable. It’s been miserable for everyone.”

While the recover for the U.S. economy has been sluggish, Mexico has thrived over the recent years compared to the tailspins it saw in the 1980’s and 90’s. Inflation is manageable, the peso is stable, and the northern half of the country has boomed with manufacturing centers thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement. The manufacturing plants produce cars, heavy equipment, and airplanes.

In another twist, CBS News reports that Border Patrol arrested more non-Mexicans than Mexicans in 2014 due to more Central Americans fleeing violence in their countries and seeking asylum in the United States.

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