Illegal immigrants said homeward bound

U.S. officials say countless illegal immigrants are preparing to go home or have already left in the face of the faltering national economy.

The Miami Herald said Malaquias Gaspar is among millions of illegal immigrants affected by the U.S. economic crisis, no progress on legalization and more aggressive federal enforcement of immigration law.

Gaspar returned to Mexico to take care of his ailing mother, but his his wife and children remain in the Miami-Dade area.

While in the United States, Gaspar made a good living picking fruit and building homes, and he may return to South Florida. ''If we can't feed our children, we'll come back,'' Gaspar, 40, told the Herald.

Fewer immigrants are being caught while hiking through the Sonoran Desert on the Mexican border, or aboard makeshift vessels in the Caribbean -- meaning fewer illegal immigrants are trying to get into the United States, the Herald said.

In addition, Latin America and Caribbean communities report a reduction in money sent home, and immigrant smuggling still goes on, but at a reduced level, the report said.