Number of Mexicans caught at US border takes dramatic plunge

Source: NBC News

Number of Mexicans caught at US border takes dramatic plunge
12/30/14 04:08 PM
By Amanda Sakuma

The number of undocumented immigrants from Mexico who were caught trying to enter the country illegally took a dramatic plunge in 2014 to historic lows never seen before, according to fresh analysis released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.

The latest analysis tracks more than six decades of data on apprehensions along the southwestern border, finding that for the first time, the number of non-Mexicans who were swept up by Border Patrol agents outpaced that of undocumented immigrants from Mexico. It’s just the latest plot-point marking an end to a massive migration wave from Mexico that lasted for decades with millions of people who likely entered the United States illegally.

The consistent dip in Mexican apprehensions also refutes claims that immigration policies enacted by the Obama administration serve as a magnet to encourage illegal immigration. Critics allege that President Obama’s executive action on immigration will be perceived as “amnesty” and drive up illegal immigration by people who believe they have a shot at citizenship once they make it to the U.S.

Instead, just the opposite has happened.

Researchers have noted for years that illegal immigration from Mexico did shoot up over the course of four decades, dating back to the early 1980s. Border apprehensions of undocumented Mexican immigrants peaked in 2000 when 1.6 million were caught at the U.S. border, the Pew researched released Tuesday showed. Since then, the number of border-crossers caught by agents has plunged. In 2014, undocumented immigrants from the U.S.’s southwestern neighbor accounted for just 229,000 apprehensions, the analysis found.



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