Reports of slowing illegal immigration to U.S. from Mexico

One thing to keep in mind is that Mexico is just ONE country, albeit the most important source country by far for a number of decades.  Because of its very different demographic situation (continuing explosive population growth), Central America, just to cite one nearby region, will continue to send large numbers of illegal migrants that have to be actively controlled through enforcement measures.  Also, we need to continue to convince our fellow Americans of the need to reduce legal immigration, which this news has no bearing on.

I for one celebrate this news about Mexico in particular because I see it as a win-win success story both for Mexico and the USA.  Mexico's fertility rate began plummeting in the seventies as a result of concerted government action and widespread support across many sectors; this good news is the inevitable outcome of those labors.  As Bill Ryerson of the Population Media Center can tell us, the "Sabido methodology" developed by Mexican TV executive Miguel Sabido, Vice President for Televisa, is what PMC uses in its programs in many countries around the world.  It's about designing and producing widely watched and listened to serialized dramas on radio and television (telenovelas and the like)  to promote values and changed behavior (such as using birth control) that help individuals, families and society as a whole, in this case by reduced birthrates and smaller family size.  Mexico's TFR dropped from something like 7 in the seventies to 2+ today: a major achievement.  This success has been replicated in other large Catholic countries that enjoy a tradition of secular governance like Brazil.  Not surprisingly, the middle class and economic opportunities in both of these large Latin American nation states has been growing apace.

In terms of CAPS' mission, that has not changed one iota. We recognize the success of reduced illegal immigration but not until California's and the USA's populations are stabilized can we claim success and go home and tend our gardens (or in my case, disappear into the wilderness).