According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, more Mexicans immigrants have returned to Mexico from the U.S. than have migrated here during the period of 2009 through 2014. The same data sources also show the overall flow of Mexican immigrants between the two countries is at its smallest since the 1990s, mostly due to a drop in the number of Mexican immigrants coming to the US. According to the 2014 Mexican National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID) and the U.S census Data, there was a net loss of 140,000 immigrants from the U.S. to Mexico.
The decline in the flow of Mexican immigrants to the U.S in recent years is due to several reasons. First, the slower than expected recovery from the recession in 2008 may have made the U.S. less attractive to potential Mexican migrants and may have pushed out some Mexican immigrants as the U.S. job market deteriorated. In addition, stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, particularly at the U.S.-Mexico border may have contributed to the reduction of Mexican immigrants coming to the U.S. in recent years. At the same time, increased enforcement in the U.S. has led to an increase in the number of Mexican immigrants who have been deported from the U.S. since 2005. However, a majority of the 1 million who left the U.S. for Mexico between 2009 and 2014 left of their own accord, according to the Mexican government’s ENADID survey data. Most of these departures cited family reunification as the main reason for their return.
