Mexicans: 1 in 3 would come to the U.S.

by Mark Silva

Here's some fodder for critics who worry that illegal immigrants stand to benefit from the health-care overhaul that President Obama is attempting to push through Congress: One in three Mexicans say they would come to the United States if they had the opportunity.

And here's a sign of the economic times: Four in 10 Mexicans surveyed say they know someone who left for the U.S. but returned because they couldn't find work here. Not to mention health care.

These are among the findings of a Pew Global Attitudes survey of Mexicans, which also finds a high degree of dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. neighbor to the South.

Nearly six in ten of those surveyed say Mexicans who do leave their country for the U.S. enjoy a better life here, and among the one-in-three who say they would move to the U.S. if they had the chance, most of them say they would do so without authorization.

For the record, the president and congressional allies say undocumented immigrants will not find health care coverage under the legislation they are proposing, though critics complain the verification of legal residency will not be stringent enough to ensure that that doesn't happen.

The Census Bureau reported this week that immigration from Mexico to the U.S. is on the decline.

The Pew survey finding that nearly 40 percent of the Mexicans surveyed say they know someone who returned for failure to find work in the U.S. could have something to do with that - suggesting that the recession may have more to do with the Census Bureau's findings than any stepped up enforcement of the border.

The survey found that:

 39 percent of Mexican adults have friends or relatives in the U.S. whom they telephone, write to or visit regularly, though that is down from 49 percent in 2002.

 48 percent say emigration from Mexico to the U.S. is bad for their country, and 42 percent say it is good for their country.

 95 percent say illegal drugs are a big problem for Mexico - 73 percent a very big problem, and 78 percent support U.S. training for Mexican police and the military. While 63 percent support the U.S. providing money and weapons, just 30 percent support U.S. troops for the job of combating drug trafficking in Mexico.

 78 percent are dissatisfied with conditions in their country, with 69 percent calling the economy bad, and 75 percent calling economic issues a very big problem 81 percent calling crime a very big problem - and 68 percent calling corrupt political leaders a very big problem.

The 2009 Pew Global Attitudes survey of Mexico included1,000 adults interviewed between May 26 and June 2. For more on the Mexican report, see Pew's poll.