More American Retirees Settle in Mexico, Most Illegally Erin Siegal McIntyre - U.S. News & World Report
go to original May 8, 2017

Study Uncovers One Million American Expats Living Illegally in Mexico (PressTV)

In 2017, for the first time in twenty years, Mexico topped the list of International Living's annual ranking of the best places for U.S. citizens to retire. The population of Americans in Mexico is rising, in size as well as in age.

Yet most of them may be there illegally. South of the border, it's relatively easy for U.S. citizens to live without legal documentation. In fact, some official reports indicate that illegal Americans seem to be the rule, not the exception.

One 2015 study from Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography reveals that a stunning 91.2 percent of Americans in the country don't have their papers in order. That figure includes typos and other minor irregularities, and doesn't appear to account for dual nationals.

The welcome many American immigrants feel in Mexico stands in stark contrasts to the way their Mexican counterparts are treated by Uncle Sam.

At the border crossing into Tijuana from San Diego, Americans can drive straight into Mexico without stopping or showing any kind of identification.

Mexicans generally embrace Americans and the influx of U.S. dollars that accompany them, and the Mexican government rarely deports Americans – typically just for very serious crime. Fines related to immigration paperwork can range from $50 to a few hundred dollars.

Conversely, under the Trump administration, even those people who grew up in the United States, brought here as babies or children, are now being deported for lacking formal documentation.

"There is a great deal of irony there," says Sheila Croucher, author of the book, "The Other Side of the Fence: American Migrants in Mexico." She adds, "I believe the Mexican people are remarkably adept at separating the actions and attitudes of the U.S. government from that of the American people."

According to the U.S. State Department, around a million Americans currently reside in Mexico. But that number is only an estimate, since citizens aren't closely tracked leaving the U.S. For its part, Mexico struggles to tally incoming visitors.

Read the rest at U.S. News & World Report

Related: Amnesty Program Is Something All Expats Who Live in Mexico Illegally Should Know About (Expats in Mexico)

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