We need to examine why fewer Mexicans are coming to the United States. The number is down 25 percent since the recession began. And that’s no accident.

Mexican immigrants come to this nation to work.

They come to this nation because even when there are jobs in Mexico, they pay less than a living wage.

They come to this nation because employers here recruit them, as they have for decades.

But when there are fewer jobs to be had here, many Mexicans stay in their home country.

It takes a lot for a family to uproot itself, and even more for one family member to leave everyone else behind in search of work. Most people would much prefer to stay in their home country than to separate themselves from the people they love and the community they grew up in.

But because of dire poverty in Mexico, people have been willing to take their chances. The calculations change, however, when the job market in the United States shrinks.

I recognize that some anti-immigrant groups argue that it is the crackdown on the border that has limited the number of Mexicans coming north.

Certainly, heightened law enforcement has made it more difficult for people to come to the United States without papers.

Ironically, it has also trapped immigrants here who are hesitant to return to Mexico because of the difficulty of coming back. This fear is particularly strong among immigrants with loved ones who are U.S. citizens or legal residents.

Another irony is that heightened law enforcement has enabled smugglers to increase their fees. Some are now charging people thousands of dollars to cross the border, since it is a more difficult passage now, often across dangerous deserts. Every year, hundreds of men, women and children die in the desert trying to make it safely to the United States.

More than the increased enforcement, however, I believe it is the declining U.S. economy that is slowing the rate of immigration.

And if that’s true, then it should help us resolve the immigration issue, which some people are unfortunately using to fuel a nativist backlash.

For if unequal economic development between the two nations is at the root of much of the migration, then the thing to do is to boost the Mexican economy. It is simple common sense: If people in Mexico can make a living for themselves and their families in their home country, they won’t risk everything to come here.

Rather than punishing those who contribute to our economy through their labor, why not create ways for them to stay in their communities if they choose?

Instead of splitting families, leaving mothers and children to suffer, why not create ways to keep families together?

This takes a shift in perception that is possible only if we choose to look at undocumented migration not as a threat but as a difficult human situation that requires our compassion, our understanding and our creativity.

Yolanda Chávez Leyva is an historian specializing in Mexican-American and border histories. Her research is on children crossing the border at the turn of the 20th century. She can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.