A little-known, but enormously significant, demographic development has been unfolding south of our border. The fertility rate in Mexico—whose emigrants account for a majority of the United States’ undocumented population—has undergone one of the steepest declines in history, from about 6.7 children per woman in 1970 to about 2.1 today, according to World Bank figures. That makes it roughly equal to the U.S. rate and puts it at what demographers call “replacement level,” the point at which women are having just enough babies to sustain the current population. In coming years it’s expected to dip even further. Other countries in Latin America have experienced a similar drop, though not as sharp. All of which means that the ranks of those “invading” hordes are thinning—rapidly.
Arian Campo-Flores on why the illegal immigration issue might not be an issue for much longer (via newsweek)
Wow… so Mexicans are getting the clue that their country isn’t a good place to raise kids—or they’re realizing that it’s too expensive to raise more than one or two. Either way, I can’t help but wonder if they’re not functioning as a canary in the mineshaft.
I love that metaphor because warnings are what we need—in this case, I think our economy is descending even more—without anyone in leadership being willing to face it. They say that the first to be hurt in a recession are the poor, well, in North America, it doesn’t get any more poor than Mexico.
Are we next? Because too many people are talking about recovery, I’d say yes…
