And no wonder net migration has recently reversed, with hundreds of thousands of workers and their families leaving the state in search of better opportunities.

WSJ: Boskin and Cogan: California's Greek Tragedy

"The net migration flow from Mexico to the United States has stopped and may have reversed, " says the report, which is based on an analysis of U.S. and Mexican government data by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.

WSJ: Mexican Immigration Wave Winds Down