A 2007 news article in El Asesor, a Mexican online newspaper, noted that 1.8 million people in Mexico were unemployed. An added 400,000 Mexicans can be added onto the 1.8 million people already unemployed as, The National Garment Industry Board concluded in Prensa Latina yesterday, that 400,000 Mexicans lost their textile jobs this year. The situation is only expected to become worse as a report by the Board noted in the article stated, that if the Mexican economy grows at 3% this year 800,000 people will be unemployed. The loss of jobs can be the cause of clothing companies moving to other countries.

The main concern with the continuing loss of jobs experienced by Mexicans is the influence it will have on the immigration debate within in the US. As more and more people lose their jobs more and more people will die and even more will flee. What people, I believe, fail to realize is that the Mexican people trying to immigrate into the US are refugees. They have little to no means to survive where they are. They cannot help themselves and their government cannot help them. If I were living in such harsh conditions where I couldn’t feed myself let alone my family I would try to escape to the most stable, closest place. The US needs to work with Mexico in developing social programs to help its people. If the US tried harder in supporting and developing programs instead of consisting raping Mexico through NAFTA, immigration would not be an issue. Since immigration is such a major issue within the US, an issue rendered harmful, one would think the US would be more supportive and active in solving not only its “problem” by helping Mexico solve its economic problems.