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April 3, 2008 --  Until recently it has been difficult to measure how a border city's economic growth relates to the economic base of its Mexican counterpart (see here).

In part, this is due to a divergence in Mexican and U.S. economic data collection systems. But it’s also because an unknown number of people cross the border legally from Mexico to work illegally in the United States.

Jorge, who felt uncomfortable providing his last name, is a Nuevo Laredo resident who has spent the last 24 years cleaning pools and tending to his client's gardens as a part of the workforce in Laredo, Tx.