Polls & Research

Unemployment Fuels Migration, Say Mexicans

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many Mexican adults believe their compatriots decide to leave the country due to lack of jobs, according to a poll by El Universal. 70 per cent of respondents believe Mexicans seek to reside in the U.S. because they are unemployed.

Last month, the Pew Hispanic Center calculated the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States at somewhere between 11.5 million to 12 million.

In December 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that calls for the construction of a new 1,100 kilometre fence on the U.S.-Mexico border. The proposal also seeks to make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally or to help an undocumented person stay in the country.

On Apr. 6, several senators announced a compromise package that would place illegal immigrants in three different groups depending on the amount of time they have spent in the U.S. The plan, called the "roots concept" by Republican lawmakers, would favour persons who have lived in the U.S. for more than five years. The proposal was not ratified before a two-week congressional break.

Last month, in an interview with the BBC, Mexican president Vicente Fox discussed immigration policies in the United States, and declared, "I daresay that in 10 years, the U.S. will be begging, will be pleading with Mexico to send it workers, and Mexico won't do it because it will have its people employed (in Mexico)."

During his campaign, Fox vowed to create 1 million new jobs. Mexico's urban unemployment rate—a survey of inactivity in cities with a population higher than 100,000 people—stood at 3.42 per cent last month, compared to 2.95 per cent in 2003.

The Mexican presidential election is scheduled for Jul. 2. 22 per cent of respondents believe Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) would be more effective in generating jobs and stopping Mexicans from seeking employment abroad, while 18 per cent select Felipe Calderón of the governing National Action Party (PAN). Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) is next with 16 per cent, and 23 per cent believe none of the presidential contenders will be successful in this area.

Polling Data

Why do you think Mexicans seek to reside in the United States?

Which presidential candidate would you say would be more effective in generating jobs and stopping Mexicans from seeking employment abroad?