Illegal immigratioon: victim of recession

As I have previously noted, in response to figures from the Mexican government, illegal immigration is down drastically -- mainly since the recession hit. In the old days I used to argue that the only way the government could control illegal immigration would be to plunge the country into recession and tank the economy, thereby eliminating the presence of more jobs than were allowed for in the arbitrary quotas set in Washington. I didn't mean for them to take the advice, though a glancing acquaintance with Austrian economics business cycle theory has suggested for years that a bubble-bursting recession was coming.

Now we have figures released by the U.S. Customs and Border Control reporting that nabbing of illegals, generally an indicator of the larger phenomenon of illegal immigration, was down 17% in 2008, to the lowest level in 36 years. The attribute it to better technology and more people (hmm, wouldn't that lead to more arrests?), but grudgingly acknowledge the recession as a contributory factor. Trust me,. it's the biggest factor. I'm sure the figure for 2009 will be lower yet.