Most Mexicans say they would actually prefer to stay home. If they could find viable jobs in Mexico, they would gladly work in them.
Now, there is some indication that a brighter economic reality for Mexico has meant less of an incentive to leave. The New York Times recently quoted experts on both sides of the border showing that a rise in wages in Mexico, and greater access to education, has meant that generations of Mexicans no longer see a stint in the US as a “rite of passage.”
Others dismiss this as a reason. The prospect of wages far higher than what they earn at home has always been a mighty pull to the US. About one fifth of Mexicans still live in extreme poverty, and 50 percent of the population is considered poor. With a population of 113 million, that is a lot of potential economic migrants.
