Thread: LI:Message to would-be immigrants: Stay home, no jobs

Updated: 6:46 p.m.
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Message to would-be immigrants: Stay home, no LI jobs

BY DAVE MARCUS | dave.marcus@newsday.com
6:46 PM EST, February 5, 2009



Armando, 54, of Honduras, was waiting in Huntington Station but had no luck finding a contractors to hire him. He said he warns relatives not to go to the US for jobs. (Photo by Dave Marcus / February 4, 2009)

When Eusebio Julian crossed the Mexican border and arrived in Westbury three years ago, he sent a message back to friends: Come up and take your pick of landscaping and farming jobs.

These days, he's sending a warning to folks back home in Mexico City: "Don't come to Long Island, there's no work."

Immigrants across the Island say a job shortage has prompted them to urge others to cancel plans to illegally cross the border. Their messages mirror reports from directors of food banks, shelters and church outreach groups, who see signs that illegal immigration to Long Island is slowing significantly.

The local trend reflects nationwide reports that immigrants without documents are staying away from the United States, especially the Northeast and other economically pinched areas.

"All the evidence we have here and in Mexico indicates that illegal immigration has practically ground to a halt," said Demetri Papademetriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a research group in Washington, D.C., that's known to be favorable to immigrants. Last month he wrote a report saying that border arrests and population estimates indicate a slowdown in illegal immigration.

Finding reliable statistics about the shadowy population is difficult, but many indicators suggest a decrease in arrivals. U.S. Census data, for example, shows that the number of all immigrants entering New York State dropped by 10 percent last year from a high of 104,709 in 2006.

And the Mexican central bank showed that Mexicans living abroad sent less money home last year than the previous year - a drop from $26.1 billion to $25.1 billion, or 3.6 percent. That was the first yearly drop since the bank started keeping track in 1995.

Immigrants who used to find ready work as day laborers say they're struggling here. "I can tell you I've never seen so few jobs available," said Armando, 54, who came to Huntington from Honduras. He wouldn't give his last name.

Like others interviewed, he said he sneaked into the United States in order to support his children back home. Even in tough times, he said he refuses to seek public assistance.

"These people are really worried and desperate," said Yanir Chacon-Lopez, who does outreach work at St. Brigid's Parish in Westbury.

Some say any drop in numbers is welcome news. "There are going to be fewer illegal immigrants who would inevitably be a burden on public services," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., a group that has called for tougher enforcement.

The apparent slowdown is not surprising, experts say, because even residents of the most remote Latin American villages have up-to-date information on the job market. "In good times and bad, this is a labor pool with a lot of information," said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks, a nonprofit group pushing for changes in immigration laws. "Every once in a while, people in Latin America heard something like, 'There aren't many jobs on Long Island now, but restaurants in Manhattan are booming' or 'They're hiring at a meat packing plant in Nebraska.' "

Nadia Marin Molina, executive director of the Workplace Project in Hempstead, cautioned against overestimating a trend. "As bad as the economy is here, it's worse in Latin America."
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-li ... 5331.story

....oh and I'm sure Tamar Jacoby and her pro-illegal, pro-amnesty organizations are more than willing to provide the inside scoop to the "would-be" migrants about the up-to-minute best places to find a job in the U.S....too bad they don't provide that information for the millions of Americans who are losing theirs.