Thread: PA:Surprising Trend May Spark New Immigration Debate

Surprising Trend May Spark New Immigration Debate
Immigrants Say Some Leaving But Not Because Of Enforcement

Last Edited: Wednesday, 10 Dec 2008, 11:47 AM EST
Created: Wednesday, 10 Dec 2008, 11:43 AM EST

CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. -- A fresh trend may spark a new debate on the immigration issue.

Is tough enforcement keeping illegal workers out of the country, or is it a tough economy?

Some towns in our area enacted their own laws, after they say the federal government didn't do enough.

But now a surprising trend is emerging that could make those laws obsolete. Fox 29's Claudia Gomez takes a look:

Many Americans would like to solve the problem of illegal immigration with more raids, more arrests and more deportations -- undocumented workers hauled away in handcuffs, flown back home against their will.

And while that happens every day in the United States, agents from Customs & Immigration Enforcement are getting some unexpected help.

And it's not from law enforcement.

"Honestly, no, I didn't expect to see this day when undocumented people were returning home to Mexico voluntarily," said mushroom farm worker Luis Tlaseca through an interpreter.

That's right, Latino immigrants are reversing a decade-old trend. Many are going home on their own. Last year, the number of immigrants sneaking across the U.S. border actually fell below the number of those here legally in this country. A big part of the reason behind it is the bad economy.

"According to one survey, 49 percent of Latino immigrants in this country for less than five years say they're thinking about returning home. The vast majority say it's becoming much harder to find a good-paying job. And many of them say they're earning less this year than last."

One undocumented worker told Fox 29 News there's little work right now. He lives with four other Mexicans in a small trailer. All of them are struggling to pay the bills.

He said his employer cut his hours. It's happening at mushroom farms across Chester County.

"Individuals have had their hours reduced to 20 hours a week, and that's just not enough to be able to survive," Tlaseca said. "In some companies, folks are getting laid off. In one mushroom company, we recently were informed that 25 people were just laid off."

Undocumented workers in the stalled construction business also got hit hard. And while it's impossible to know exactly how many Latinos are returning home voluntarily, researchers at the Pew Hispanic Center said the number of illegal immigrants has declined since last year.

"Immigration is very sensitive to economic cycles. And throughout American history, when the economy is tight, immigration has tended to fall off," University of Pennsylvania History Professor Michael Katz said.

To be sure, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, as it's known, is partly responsible for the drop in illegal immigrants. Under the Bush Administration, ICE agents have stepped up efforts to target immigrant fugitives.

"Fugitives are aliens in the country illegally who have already had their day in immigration court and have been told they cannot stay here, and they have to leave. And they choose not to," said ICE spokesman Mark Medvesky.

ICE officials said arrests in the Philly region are up 23 percent this fiscal year over last. In New Jersey, they're up 25 percent.

One illegal immigrant said he is seeing more enforcement, as are immigration lawyers.

"It is very widespread nowadays. I'm telling you, these people are living in fear. Some of them don't know. 'Should I work? I have to work. But on the other hand, I'm afraid to go to work and then not coming back home,'" said immigration lawyer Nahid Wilf.

Still, every immigrant Fox 29 spoke with said the economy is taking the greater toll, by far.

Whatever the reasons behind the reverse migration, you might be tempted to think it's a welcome trend. But experts said there are consequences for an economy already badly hurting.

"Immigrants are essential to our local economy here in metro Philadelphia. Between 2000 and 2006, immigrants accounted for approximately 75 percent of job growth," Katz said.

"The economy runs with these people. If you don't have these people to work as hard as they do, what are we going to do?" added Wilf.

An undocumented worker said they do the most difficult jobs -- they're the ones who are helping to sustain the agriculture industry.

Penn's Katz said, "Without a healthy immigration to this region, we will not have a labor force."

Like so many Americans, these immigrants say they're hoping President-elect Barack Obama will fix the economy. They're also hoping Obama will tackle immigration reform.

One worker said he's here to work, nothing more.

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/ ... geId=3.2.1

Whatever the reasons behind the reverse migration, you might be tempted to think it's a welcome trend. But experts said there are consequences for an economy already badly hurting.

"Immigrants are essential to our local economy here in metro Philadelphia. Between 2000 and 2006, immigrants accounted for approximately 75 percent of job growth," Katz said.

This is precisely one of the many reasons WHY we are in this mess now! These "immigrants" displaced Americans who were ALREADY doing those jobs!

Employers lowered their costs but did not pass the cost savings on to the consumer. Consumers losing jobs, unable to pay taxes. The low cost "immigrants" filling those jobs have bled our social programs dry. Employers not paying taxes on their illegal alien workforce meant taking MORE taxes from the middle class. In all this, illegal aliens continue to reproduce at alarming rates, further burdening social programs, schools, hospitals, etc.

Illegal aliens are NOT essential to our economy, they have DESTROYED it!

Cut ALL incentives to being an illegal in the US and there will be a mass reversal of illegal immigration! We the People DEMAND it NOW!