http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pb ... /-1/NEWS01

Facing 'La Migra': Bad for business?
Some blame decline in sales on fear in Hispanic population.

FACING 'LA MIGRA': ELKHART COUNTY'S NEW TOUGHER ENFORCEMENT

PABLO ROS
Tribune Staff Writer

GOSHEN -- Some business owners who cater to Latinos say sales have plummeted in recent months, and they suspect fear caused by recent deportations may be at least partly to blame.

"(Police) are stopping people, checking their (immigration) documents," said Rosa María Ponce, who owns a restaurant and grocery store in downtown Goshen. "They're afraid of spending what little they have."

Ponce said she blames that and a slowdown in the RV industry for the fact that in the past few months, her restaurant has lost 50 percent of its diners. Her grocery store, too, has seen a decline in sales, she said.

"We've never gone through a stage like this," said Ponce, who has been in business for seven years. "We have always done well."

Just recently, Ponce invested in a license to sell and serve liquor, hoping to attract more customers.

"We are worried," she said.

A common concern

Isabel Gutierrez, who owns a bakery shop across the street, agreed.

Gutierrez recalled when earlier this year there were rumors that immigration agents were in town deporting people.

"I didn't see a single customer that day," she said.

Gutierrez said she suspects that recent deportations are deterring people from going out of their homes and spending money.

"People are wanting to move to a different state because police are so tough here," she said.

Isaac Torres, who owns a money transfer service mainly used by Latinos to send money home, said he, too, remembers a similar incident. He said that earlier this year, when immigration agents were in Indianapolis, his branch there didn't do any business.

"We didn't have any customers that day at all until 8 p.m., when people decided it was safe to go out again," he said.

Torres, whose Intercambio Express operates in eight states in the Midwest, said he's noticed a decline in transactions in recent months that is largely limited to his Elkhart County branches. He said he's had to shift employees' hours toward evening because of fewer daytime customers.

"And it's a significant decline," he said.

Torres also said he attributes the phenomenon to a slowdown in the local recreational vehicle industry, which employs many Latinos.

"I thought that might be having a domino effect on the industry all around this area," he said.

Jaime Gómez, who owns a Mexican food restaurant in Goshen, said in recent weeks he has lost 45 percent of his diners.

Gómez said he's had to cut back on employees' hours.

"Of course I'm worried (about the future)," he said.

Lorenzo Ramirez, who has been running a mechanics shop for 12 years, said he's never had so few customers.

"Not even when the towers fell (on Sept. 11) did we see so little business," he said.

Ramirez said he thinks that's both because people are afraid of police and because of new Bureau of Motor Vehicles regulations that are making it harder for illegal residents to renew their license plates.

In May, the BMV launched a statewide campaign to fight fraud using a new computer system, tougher security measures and employee training.

"People are going to Illinois and Michigan to get license plates," Ramirez said.

The RV industry?

Rob Steiner, a middle market lender for Chase, acknowledges that many of his clients in the RV industry have experienced a slowdown.

In the first six months of the year, he said, the industry seemed "strong," "slow" in the summer, and "it really got slow" in the early fall.

"They're not getting as many orders as before," he explained.

Pete Pedersen, a plant manager for Kinro, which makes windows and doors for RVs, said some of his workers have endured cutbacks and now work less than full time.

But Pedersen said that is not unusual for this time of year.

Delmar Good, a professor of economics at Goshen College, said he has heard of layoffs, particularly in the RV industry, but is reluctant to conclude that anything abnormal is going on.

"Things are slowing down a bit, but there is not a substantial slowdown," he said. "On the national level the economy is still fairly strong and growing. Locally, it feels like the interest rates might be starting to hurt housing, but not as much as in the hot spots."

A slump in a particular industry could disproportionately affect one segment of the population over others, Good said.

David Daugherty, president of the Goshen Chamber of Commerce, said, "There may be a very slight softening (of the local economy), but nothing significant. ... Not much out of the ordinary."

Daugherty also said the Chamber doesn't hear much feedback from Hispanic business owners.

Staff writer Pablo Ros:
pros@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6555