A Mexican-American family in the US

More than 25 million US residents are of Mexican origin, according to US census figures. Would the number go up if the US Congress approves a guest worker program?

A recent survey by the Pew Hispanic Center suggests so. A poll conducted in Mexico reveals that 40 percent of Mexicans would migrate to the US if they had the opportunity. And 20 percent would be willing to work illegally in the US.

The figures are pretty high considering that Mexico's population hovers around 106 million. Why would so many people leave their country? The answer is very simple and has to do with the huge disparity in salaries between the two countries.

According to the World Bank, the US per capita income is about $40,000 compared to Mexico's $ 6,000. The difference is huge.

For unskilled workers in Mexico, daily wages are about six to 10 dollars a day. Given that in the US one can make that much in an hour, is it any wonder people would migrate? The desire to move goes up for Mexicans who have a hard time finding work.

Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 many people working in agriculture lost jobs. A significant number moved from farming areas to major Mexican cities but a lot of them have been coming to the US in spite of strong efforts to secure the border.

In 1994 Operation Gatekeeper began which essentially has been a crackdown at the US-Mexico border to prevent undocumented workers from entering the US.

Although the operation did not reduce the number of undocumented workers from crossing into the US, it did have an impact. Getting into the US became difficult and the use of smugglers became a necessity for those determined to cross the border. In addition, the crackdown replaced the "easy" entry points with dangerous areas, particularly in the Arizona desert.

The result has been a dramatic increase in the number of deaths at the border. In the last ten years, several hundred people lost their lives as they attempted to make it into the US.

The events of 9/11 heightened the need to control the border for fear that terrorists might enter the US from Mexico. That has not happened but it's a possibility.

If the US is serious about securing the border, the attraction for Mexicans to move to the US must be taken away. That means ensuring that only people with legal papers would be hired to work.

Regrettably, far too many companies, big and small, hire people through subcontractors and make little effort to check job applicants¹ background.

Working in agriculture is not particularly appealing given the low wages and the harsh working conditions. Harvesting grapes may last a few weeks and then you¹d be unemployed.

Raising wages to 15-20 dollars an hour might attract some Americans. How many growers advertise jobs with those wages?

There are some bills in Congress which would create a guest worker program and allow Mexican nationals into the US to do seasonal work if no Americans can be found to do certain jobs.