100 comments left so far at the source link.
~~~

Immigrants' activist sees mass exodus to Mexico
December 19th, 2008 @ 5:03am
by Jim Cross/KTAR

Tens of thousands of immigrants are making a Christmas pilgrimage to their homeland of Mexico and many will not come back, according to Valley immigrant rights activist Elias Bermudez.

Bermudez, of the group Immigrants without Borders, said the bad U.S. economy is forcing immigrants to make hard choices, and many will return to their native land for the first time in years, or perhaps ever.

"What they're telling me is, 'If I'm going to die of hunger here, I'd rather die of hunger there,'" Bermudez said. "They're going back not to enjoy their families, they're going back to cry with their families."

Arizona could easily see 200,000 immigrants leave permanently, on top of the 100,000 people who already have left the country, said Bermudez.

"In this kind of situation right now, those who are leaving, 80 to 90 percent of those are not coming back," he said. "You will get the 10 percent of those who are legal, who have legal permanent residency, who actually visit their families and come back."

He added, "The main reason people are leaving is because they don't have jobs. Or the employer sanctions situation in Arizona. It is not solving our economic problems, it really aggravates our economic problems."

Many immigrants risked their lives to reach the United States, and many will risk their lives by returning to Mexico, Bermudez said, noting the spreading violence in Mexico.

"Federal representatives, congressmen from Mexico City, are at every port of entry, receiving these people and making sure that they have safe passage into Mexico," he said. "It's really an amazing kind of situation."

http://news.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1011977