Hispanic workers are leaving the state of Arizona like rats leaving a sinking economic ship.
Mostly to blame, say economists, is the weakening U.S. economy. As growth slows down, jobs that employed Latinos, especially in construction and landscaping, dry up. People leave, creating a domino effect on the states’ businesses. With no jobs available, people abandon their apartments, they no longer shop in the stores or eat in the restaurants that catered to them. Children leave schools. This latest economic flight is affecting legal as well as illegal immigrants.
Arizona’s recent employer-sanctions law, however, is contributing to illegal immigrants’ flight. The law requires employers to check the validity of new hires’ identities against a federal database that taps into information maintained by the Social Security Administration and the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Law enforcement in Phoenix is also turning up the heat on illegal immigrants by asking people arrested on criminal charges such as drunken driving and murder whether they are in the U.S. legally. “We are doing what every city in this country should be doing but doesn’t,” Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said.
Where are the displaced immigrants going? The construction industry says some of its workers go to Texas, California, Nevada or Colorado. Texas is considered a relatively welcoming state for immigrants as it has not passed any statewide law targeting the employment of undocumented workers.
Arizona politicos, such as State Rep. Russell Pearce, who is leading the illegal immigration battle, considers the migration a sign of success.
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