In post-recession surge, number of Mexicans in U.S. hits record

[Geee]

Washingrton Times:

Immigration to the U.S. has recovered from its recession-caused lull and is surging back, led in part by a major jump in migrants from neighboring Mexico, according to a report being released Thursday that suggests Latin Americans are once again coming and staying.

 

For several years, the flow had dropped, and analysts said net migration from Mexico was essentially zero — any newcomers were being offset by folks returning home or by natural attrition resulting from mortality rates.

 

But more than 1 million additional Mexicans came and stayed over the past two years, leaving 12.1 million in the U.S. as of June, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that wants tighter restrictions on immigration. They were part of an overall surge that sent the total number of immigrants of all nationalities to a record 42.1 million.

 

The numbers cover both legal and illegal immigrants, but Steven A. Camarota, the report’s chief author and research director for the center, said illegal immigration does appear to be on the rise — a conclusion he derived from the rises in migration from Mexico and Central America.