Understanding illegal immigration

Referring to "flows" of illegal Mexicans into the US, the Pew Hispanic Center said in Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and Characteristics "The flows respond to economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad. For Mexico and many other countries, conditions in the U.S. are almost always better than abroad so that worsening conditions in Mexico and elsewhere lead to increased migration to the United States."

The report is a fairly easy read because it's mostly charts and bullet points. Highly recommended. An interesting tidbit is the fact that 10% of people born in Mexico live in the United States. Wow.