By Dennis E. Nixon
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The flow of immigrants who illegally enter the United States through the Mexican border has declined dramatically over the last couple of decades after the massive influx that occurred in the 1980s. Today the border still faces illegal immigration with individuals coming to the U.S. in hopes of participating in the American dream a chance to succeed.
These economic migrants a term used by U.S. Border Patrol are law-abiding people who are seeking work because their country of origin has not given them a chance to succeed even at the basic levels of feeding their families. Today the bulk of migrants are Central American. The primary reasons for their migration to the U.S. are:
- Family Reunification (family members already established in the U.S.)
- Perceptions of Amnesty (largely driven by misinformation)
- Fear of Violence in their Home Country and
- Better Economic Opportunities.
On average many of these court cases take 1000 days to be adjudicated.
Due to this situation many migrants never appear for a court date and end up being deported in absentia.
A secure border is defined as our ability to enforce the rule of law." However the lack of immigration judges or post-apprehension consequences undermines the rule of law.
Border towns need to have facilities along the southern border with sufficient asylum officers Immigration Judges and Consular Officers to hear cases and then make a final determination on-site. If a decision to release pending a hearing is made at that point then sufficient protocols and bond amounts need to be established to ensure that individuals will report for future hearings.
This procedure is not being done at the present time.
The size and makeup of the economic migrant group has changed dramatically over the last several years. Previously 90 percent of economic migrants were of Mexican origin. This migration was driven by raw economic reality. The lack of making a satisfactory living in Mexico and a heavy law enforcement killed circularity.
Circularity was when workers came into the U.S. and returned to Mexico after several months of work so they can be with their families. This circular pattern continued for many decades but it was disrupted by the large increase in border law enforcement primarily the massive increase in Border Patrol agents followed by the rapid escalation of apprehensions.
In 2000 the number of apprehensions peaked at 1.6 million nationwide and has since steadily drifted down to about 300000 (see chart at right.) Today approximately 95 of those apprehended are economic migrants. The other 5 are engaged in criminal activities that continue at a reduced rate.
Today only about one third of the 303916 apprehensions are Mexican. Many believe the net migration of Mexicans those coming and those leaving to return home permanently is now negative. In other words more Mexican migrants are leaving the U.S. than entering the U.S.
The 176000 other apprehensions are made up almost exclusively from Central American countries such as Honduras Guatemala and El Salvador. These migrants continue to be 95 economic. However the number of apprehensions of these migrants is slightly inflated due to the heavy movement of unaccompanied minors driven by the idea they can surrender to U.S. Border Patrol and then be reunited with their loved ones.
That reality has played out accurately because of our nations failure to expeditiously adjudicate these migrants in our court system an issue Ill discussed in a future part of this series.
Another area that needs greater focus is Mexicos southern border. Until Mexico can secure its own southern border it will continue to be a land bridge for Central Americans seeking to enter the U.S. While Mexico has deployed immigration officers to its southern border to deter illegal entry it does not have sufficient personnel infrastructure or technology to make a real impact. The skeptics that do not want to face the facts about immigration and the need for economic migrants continue to dismiss raw data in favor of the extreme notion that if 11 million undocumented immigrants are given residency or some path to citizenship there will be a massive new flood of people seeking residency because the opportunities in America far exceed those in their home countries. That belief is incorrect based on demographics. Most economic migrants are from Central America.
A positive aspect is that Central America has a smaller population than Mexico and the distance to travel makes migration a challenging task. So distance and numbers have worked to keep the migrant inflows at more manageable levels.
The entire point here is to clearly point out that we need an immigration policy that addresses Americas need for workers. We need about 600000 to 650000 low-skilled workers every year to keep our economy growing.
We do not produce that type of worker in America. In fact the largest part of the workforce is now the millennial generation. This group of workers is not committed to this work so where are we going to get people to do the so-called basic jobs which some have called the dirty jobs"?
We better wake up and understand the need to reform our immigration policy in America or we will continue to starve this countrys economy due to the lack of human capital that do the basic work required in a growing economy.
This should be a fact-based discussion with the political and emotional elements pushed aside for the simple sake of reason.
Dennis E. Nixon is the principal architect behind the Chief Exec. Officer and Chairman of International Bancshares Corporation & the International Bank of Commerce the largest minority-owned bank in the United States. Overseeing $11.8 billion in assets with hundreds of full-service branches Nixon is widely recognized as one of the nations leading bank authorities & executives. Instrumental in the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Nixon has long been involved in the economic relations and financial growth between the United States & Mexico. A Past President of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce as well as the Laredo Development Foundation Nixon currently serves as a senior member on the Board of Visitors of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston Texas.
