Philippe Legrain

Sharp fall in Mexican migration to the US

The New York Times reports that:

about 226,000 fewer people emigrated from Mexico to other countries during the year that ended in August 2008 than during the previous year, a decline of 25 percent. All but a very small fraction of emigration, both legal and illegal, from Mexico is to the United States.

Opponents of immigration tend to assume that people want to move from poor countries to rich ones irrespective of the economic circumstances - perhaps to languish on welfare, for instance.

This is nonsense, of course. Most people who uproot themselves to another country do so in order to better themselves by working hard.

When there are jobs to be filled, they come. When there aren't, they don't.

Protectionism watch

After the Omnibus Appropriations Bill signed into law by President Obama scrapped a pilot programme that allowed a small number of Mexican trucking companies to carry cargoes north of the border - as NAFTA requires - Mexico has responded by slapping tariffs of up to 45% on 90 American agricultural and industrial imports.

Renault is to move production of its new Clio from Slovenia back to France, after President Sarkozy granted a bail out to French carmakers on condition they repatriate production from central and eastern Europe. Renault insists the decision is a commercial, rather than a political, one. So much for the EU single market.

One airline is (unfortunately) booming

ICE Air provides one-way flights home for immigrants that the US is deporting. Story at the WSJ. More photos here.

Absurd comment of the day:
"For a lot of these immigrants, it has been a long journey to the U.S.," said Michael J. Pitts, chief of flight operations for deportations and removals at ICE. "This is going to be the last impression they have of the United States. We want to provide good service."

A Cuban conspiracy

It is bad enough that governments conspire to keep foreigners out. It is even worse when governments conspire to keep their own citizens from leaving. Violating Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that every one has the right to leave a country, including their own, the Cuban and Mexican governments have agreed to cooperate to prevent Cubans reaching the US.

Cuba rightly rails against the unfair and counterproductive US embargo. But it has no qualms imposing its own embargo on Cubans going to live and work in the US.