Illegal Immigrants Flee In Face Of New Laws, But To Where?

October 25, 2011
Paresh Dave

Lemin Rodriguez's boss tapped him on the shoulder and offered him a warning a year ago.

The tide against illegal immigration had changed in Arizona. If Rodriguez wanted to make a living in America, he needed to leave Phoenix. He could move back to his native Monterrey, Mexico, return to where he spent his first two years in the U.S. in Kansas City, Missouri or travel to a more welcome confine such as Los Angeles.

Arizona, Alabama, and Georgia have all passed laws to drive away illegal immigrants, leaving the states with a scarcity of cheap labor while potentially creating surpluses elsewhere.

A half-dozen experts on U.S. immigration said it’s impossible to track exactly where the fleeing immigrants end up.

“Just like if you or I had to suddenly move, you would move to a job or somewhere where you know someone,â€