Immigration Reality: Tide turns - Sharp increase in number of Mexicans returning home

Tide turns: Sharp increase in number of Mexicans returning home - CNN.com: "The number of Mexican migrants returning to their country -- mainly from the United States -- has increased dramatically in the last five years compared with the previous five years. ...

The Mexican Institute of Statistics and Geography -- INEGI by its Spanish acronym -- says that during the last five years of the decade, 1.1 million Mexicans left their country. According to the government agency, by the time the national census was taken last summer, more than 351,000 Mexican migrants had returned to Mexico.

Two factors played a role in changing the pattern, according to Eduardo Sojo, INEGI's president,

"The first factor was the situation of the economy in the United States, which decreased the number of (employment) options for migrants. The second factor was the increasing difficulties migrants have when they attempt to cross the border (illegally)," said Sojo.