“If the alternative is between living in a poor developing country mired by poverty, corruption and inefficient political and market institutions, and a wealthy market capitalist society that rewards human capital investment, the most intelligent residents of developing countries usually incur the greatest opportunity cost of remaining in their country. They are also the most likely to have the means required to leave. Therefore, the most productive individuals in developing countries are likely to be the first to immigrate to the U.S. As this brain drain continues, the cost to progressively less intelligent individuals remaining in the developing country increases. As Tyler notes for Mexico (and most Latin American countries), the first immigrants to the U.S. earn incomes sufficient to send money back to their relatives and friends remaining in Mexico (or other Latin American countries) so they can make the trek to the U.S”. –Mark Steckbeck, economics professor at Hillsdale College