Four Facts You May Not Know About Mexican Immigrants

By: Harlan York
August 21, 2017

In the United States there is a lot of talk about Mexican immigrants…and a lot of assumptions about who they are, and what that means.

According to the Migration Policy Institute there were approximately 11.6 million Mexican immigrants in the United States in 2015, representing just about 27% of all immigrants in the united states. There is an interesting chart here that shows the historical data on levels of immigrants in Mexico…numbers have actually been dropping since 2011, and also numbers of immigrants from Asia and Africa have been rising in comparison.

Some people think that the US has been flooded by poor uneducated Mexican immigrants who have no prospects at home. They imagine “lowly” fruit pickers, or desperate young men coming to the states to take advantage of our country, but statistics actually paint quite a different picture.

HERE ARE FOUR FACTS ABOUT MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW

1) IT’S NOT LACK OF OPPORTUNITY AT HOME THAT PUSHES MEXICANS TO LEAVE; IT’S A HUNGRY JOB MARKET IN THE US

Researchers compared migration patterns to unemployment rates and wage differences in both countries over two decades. The results: while immigration weakly correlated to high unemployment rates in Mexico, it very strongly correlated to low unemployment in the US. Wage differences between the two countries, meanwhile, have been growing steadily for two decades, but migration has ebbed and waned. Migration from Mexico is driven 71% by the U.S. economy, 15% by Mexico’s, and 14% by higher U.S. wages.

2) IMMIGRANTS—MEXICANS IN PARTICULAR—KEEP THE U.S. WORKFORCE YOUNG(ER)

On average, Mexicans are younger than other immigrant groups, and for every Mexican working in the US, there are four retired Americans. If all immigration to the United States ceased today, by 2050, a full 40% of the working-age population (over age 15) would be 65 and older.

3) MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS TO THE US ARE, ON AVERAGE, MORE EDUCATED THAN THOSE WHO STAY IN MEXICO

Over the last 2 decades, the average education level of Mexicans workers (over age 15) who immigrate to the US has been rising. They’re now overall more educated than those that stay at home. While the average Mexican worker has slightly more than 8 years of school, those who go north have almost 10.

4) 20% OF MEXICAN-BORN PHDS ARE CURRENTLY LIVING IN THE US.

A Mexican with a doctorate degree is 4 times more likely to move to the States than one with elementary schooling, and 3 times as likely to head North as one with a high school education. (Fox)

About Harlan York

The first-ever attorney in New Jersey to win “Immigration Lawyer of the Year” from Best Lawyers, Harlan York is former immigration chair of the NJ State Bar Association and former co-chair for the NY State Bar Association CFLS Committee on Immigration. He currently serves on the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National Practice Management Committee.

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Harlan York & Associates practices law in the areas of Immigration, Deportation Defense, Family Immigration, Corporate Immigration, Naturalization throughout Essex County – Hudson County – Morris County – Passaic County – Somerset County – Middlesex County – Bergen County – New Jersey -Immigration Lawyer – NJ Immigration Lawyer – Jersey City-Newark-Paterson Passaic Elizabeth Edison Woodbridge Toms River Hamilton Trenton Camden Clifton Passaic Garfield Wallington Cherry Hill East Orange Passaic Union City Bayonne Irvington Old Bridge Lakewood North Bergen Vineland Union Wayne Parsippany-Troy Hills New Brunswick Plainfield Bloomfield Perth Amboy East Brunswick West New York West Orange Hackensack Atlantic City Kearny Mount Laurel Montclair Essex Hoboken North Brunswick Belleville. In addition to serving clients in New York, Pennsylvania, the greater United States, and Internationally.

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