August 08, 2007

New study shows jobs scarcer for migrants

By PABLO BACHELET

Four out of five Mexican and Central American migrants are finding it harder to land a job in theUnited States and a large majority say discrimination is getting worse, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Bendixen polling firm.

The study, which for the first time demonstrates the impact that the immigration debate in Washington is having on America's streets, also shows remittances are growing but at a much smaller pace.

The poll found 82 percent of Mexicans and 84 percent of Central Americans said they found it more difficult to obtain a good-paying job than a year ago. Forty-five percent blamed the increased difficulty on problems with documentation and 21 percent blame a lack of jobs.

The poll was conducted in June, at the height of the debate in the U.S. Senate to overhaul immigration laws. A proposal to provide an avenue for many migrants to legalize their status failed amid a backlash from mostly conservatives demanding a crackdown on illegal immigration.

The study provides evidence the immigration debate is impacting the lives of millions of migrants who entered the United States in search of jobs, many illegally.

Researchers conducted 900 interviews in Spanish. Among those polled, 51 percent of Mexicans and 52 percent of Central Americans said they were undocumented. The margin of error is three percentage points.

More than half of those polled had been living in the United States for more than 10 years and two out of every 10 made less than $20,000 a year.

More than one-third of Central Americans and 30 percent of Mexicans said their biggest problem in the United States was discrimination, and 83 percent of Mexicans and 79 percent of Central Americans said discrimination was on the rise.

The study showed that 82 percent of Mexicans and 97 percent of Central Americans live in California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado Nevada and the District of Colombia.

But the population in the remaining 40 states has been growing rapidly as the latest migrants seek jobs there. In this group, the study showed, just under half believe they will be in the United States in five years, compared with two-thirds in the traditional states.

The study uses U.S. Census, American Community Surveys and Pew Hispanic Center data to estimate there are 10.4 million Mexican adult migrants in the United States and 2.5 million Central Americans.

The IDB/Bendixen report estimates they will send $23.4 billion to their families back home in 2007, only a 1 percent increase from last year.

Central Americans are expected to send nearly $10 billion in remittances this year, an 8 percent jump from the year before.