http://www.investors.com/editorial/issues03.asp?v=5/6


Monday, May 9, 2005

America: Mexico's ATM

Immigration: That "giant sucking sound" you hear isn't the jobs that Ross Perot warned we'd lose to Mexico due to NAFTA. It's from all the cash Mexico is collecting from illegals working on this side of the border.

Funds sent home from Mexican immigrants, both legal and illegal, now outstrip revenues from foreign investors and tourism in Mexico (see chart). And "migradollars" are on course to surpass even revenues from Pemex, the state oil company, making them the country's largest source of income.

Revenues from Mexican workers in the U.S. are critical to Mexico's economy, accounting for nearly one-fifth of its GDP. They've grown at a 17.6% annual clip over the past decade â€â€