Poll: 35% of Mexicans would move to U.S.
TEXT OF STORY
MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: Americans are definitely not of one mind when it comes to the issue of immigration. Now two non-partisan think tanks in Mexico asked citizens on the other side of the border what they think about this issue. From the Americas Desk at WLRN ,Marketplace’s Dan Grech has that story.
DAN GRECH: The poll asked 1,500 Mexicans: If you could, would you move north of the border?35 percent said yes.
Professor Susan Minushkin is with the Center for Economic Investigation and Teaching. She directed the joint survey.
SUSAN MINUSHKIN: When you’re asking a population that earns on average one tenth of what the average American earns, if you could, would you go live in the United States, it’s not surprising that a lot of people would say yes. But that doesn’t mean that if immigration was completely opened without visas, that 30 percent of Mexico would move into the United States.
She says there are many reasons restless Mexicans stay in Mexico, including family obligations, current jobs and a shortage of cash.
The survey also found that over half of all Mexicans have relatives living in a foreign country, most of those in the U.S.
I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.
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