Illegal migrants had jobs back in Mexico, survey finds

WASHINGTON — Most illegal immigrants from Mexico had jobs there before they entered the United States, according to a report released Tuesday.

That conclusion undercuts a long-held explanation for illegal immigration: that people can't find work at home. Instead, illegal Mexican immigrants are driven here by a complex assortment of factors, including higher wages, better working conditions and a chance to reunite with growing networks of families who settled in the United States before them, according to researchers with the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington.

"Lack of work does not appear to be the main reason why migrants leave Mexico for the United States," the report says.

It was based on a survey of 4,836 Mexican immigrants in Dallas; Raleigh, N.C.; Los Angeles; New York; Chicago; Atlanta; and Fresno, Calif. The survey was conducted from July 12, 2004, to Jan. 28, 2005. This is the latest in a series of reports based on the questionnaire.

An estimated 6.3 million Mexicans are thought to be living illegally in the United States, part of a larger illegal-immigrant population in excess of 11 million. At least 3.5 million illegal Mexican immigrants hold U.S. jobs, constituting about 20 percent of the country's Hispanic work force.

Illegal Mexican immigrants traditionally have been portrayed as desperate job seekers without options in their own country. But of the Mexican immigrants surveyed who had been in the United States for two years, only 5 percent said they were unemployed before venturing north of the border.

The lure of higher wages appears to be a big incentive. Although illegal Mexican immigrants have a median income here of only $300 a week, those earnings easily surpass the $100 to $120 average weekly wages they earn at home.

"You can see people roughly doubling their earnings here," said Rakesh Kochhar, the Pew center's associate director for research.

In one notable finding, the researchers said immigration status apparently had little impact on chances for employment in the United States. "Overall, low education levels, weak English-language skills and lack of a U.S. government-issued ID do not seem to pose barriers to finding work in the U.S.," the report said.

Mexican immigrants have little trouble finding jobs. They rely heavily on tips from friends and relatives in the United States.

The immigrants, the report says, fulfill a "steady and strong demand" from U.S. employers. At least two-thirds find jobs in four industries: agriculture, construction, manufacturing and hospitality.

Meanwhile, a House panel is scheduled to vote Thursday on legislation that would strengthen border security and require workplace enforcement of immigration law but does not offer a guest-worker program, a goal of President Bush and many in Congress.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who crafted the bill, said he supports a guest-worker program, which would provide temporary visas for unskilled labor.

Some guest-worker proposals would allow illegal immigrants already in the country to participate, although Sensenbrenner has not stated a position on that issue. But he said that without a clear consensus on what that program would entail, "I believe it is wise to move cautiously."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has pledged to consider immigration reform in February. Frist, R-Tenn., said his plan is to introduce a border security bill and use that as a base to debate guest-worker ideas.

Bush traveled to the Mexican border last week to promote the need for both tighter borders and a guest-worker program. Under his proposal, undocumented workers would be able to get work visas for up to six years but then would have to leave the country to apply for a new visa.