Pay them now or cost yourself soon

ARTICLE: "Fewer Latin Migrants Send Money Home, Poll Says: Slowing Economy, Legal Crackdown Said to Cut Flows," by Miriam Jordan, Wall Street Journal, 1 May 2008, p. A4.
Most Hispanic population growth in the U.S. is now from births to parents/families already living here, not immigrants.

Of the roughly 20m Latinos adults living in the U.S., half are illegal. On average, those who remit money end up sending $325 home 15 times a year. Last year, that yielded a total of $46 billion, which is a lot more than America sends in foreign aid globally.

The danger now? Slower economy means less money remitted, means more economic distress in Latin America, more more illegals showing up.

Pay them now or rack up the costs later.

Still, stunning to consider the combination of people/money flow.

Posted by Thomas P.M. Barnett on May 16, 2008 6:19 AM Permalink | Comments (0)