TRADE WITH MEXICO CALLED A PLUS.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

While Mexican immigrants cost California $179 million a year, the country and its people also create 200,000 jobs and generate $159 billion for the state annually, according to a report released Thursday.

In analyzing government and private data, the study by the Los Angeles- based Tomas Rivera Policy Institute highlights the economic drawbacks and benefits of sharing a border, and paints a picture of an economy dependent on Mexico for everything from labor to real estate.

``Many businesses in California are making their bottom line because they are dealing with Mexico,'' said Harry Pachon, president of the Latino policy think tank. ``It's a complex relationship.''

For instance, both native- and foreign-born California residents of Mexican origin - about a quarter of the total population - spend $718.5 million in rent annually and account for 5 percent of mortgages in the state.

But households with at least one Mexican immigrant cost California an estimated $128 a year each, the study said.

The figure does not include the cost of educating immigrants, since many have school-age children that are U.S. residents. Moreover, the study authors say education can be considered an investment with benefits that cannot be easily calculated.

The study also points to a strengthening import-export relationship between the state and Mexico since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement was signed.

California lags only Texas in exports to Mexico, with $16.1 billion shipped to the country every year - mostly in electronic equipment. The state sends more products south of the border than it sends to Japan.

But the relationship is not only one-way. Mexican companies owned $1.1 billion in plants, property and equipment in California in 2000. And Mexican tourists spent $1.5 billion in the state.

Still, critics say those relationships hardly compensate for the costs of immigration.

``This report is conflating commerce and immigration. Imports and exports are just normal economic activity. The effects of immigration are permanent. If you import a television and you don't want it anymore, you can throw it away. It's different with an immigrant, a human being,'' said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

But the report argues that while immigration influences the relationship, it is only a piece of the puzzle.

``The business community, the banks, the tourism boards need to look at this. You hardly hear anyone talk about the economic relationship with Mexico,'' said Joe Benites, CEO of Glendale-based Benites Group, a marketing consulting company that was not part of the study.

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com