The Miami Herald reported Sunday that many of those who leave the United States are disillusioned that they were not able to send more money to their families back home.

Sociology professor Sueli Siqueira, who interviewed hundreds of returnees, found that 43 percent left the United States because they weren't satisfied with their earnings.

''The cost-benefit of this experience of migration stopped being positive,'' Siqueira said.

Hector Salinas, an illegal immigrant in South Florida, said the money he made working a menial restaurant job provided just enough for rent and food, leaving little to be sent to his family in Mexico.

"I never lacked for work, but I never felt good here," said Salinas, 43. "The (bosses) pay only what they want. You live with very little, and then you're also alone, and always fearful of arriving at work and having them come looking for you."

In South Florida, many farm workers from Mexico and Central America were leaving for home even before the end of the growing season, said Elvira Carvajal, a volunteer at the Florida Farmworkers Association in Florida City, Fla.