Immigrants, employers brace for plan’s effects
JASON CLAYWORTH



Some of the regular customers at Ignacio Ramirez’s Mexican grocery store have already left Iowa, while others told him this month that they are preparing to move to another state.

The exodus, to which he attributes a 20 percent to 30 percent drop in sales, is out of fear brought about by a legislative proposal that some in Iowa’s Hispanic communities say would make it virtually impossible for undocumented workers to find employment.

And while the legislative proposal hasn’t even been debated, Ramirez said his customers already sense the brewing animosity toward undocumented workers. They are leaving in a pre-emptive effort to protect their families, he said. Because undocumented workers often take hard-to-fill jobs, all of Iowa will suffer, he predicted.

“If they pass that law, it’s going to affect everybody. Not just us. Everybody,â€