South Florida Mexican immigrants see slowdown in growth

By Georgia East, Sun Sentinel

7:00 p.m. EDT, May 6, 2012
LAKE WORTH –—

Stephanie Barrios has noticed the change in her community.

Barrios, 19, moved to Lake Worth from Mexico with her family when she was 5. The community experienced major growth from 2000 to 2007, and then the numbers slowed. Now, Barrios said, some of her friends have returned to Mexico — either tired of trying to find work while undocumented or facing deportation.


"I've seen families separated,'' said Barrios, an employee at a Mexican restaurant in Lake Worth. "People know they're taking a big chance if they stay. Still, Mexico is not a good place to be right now.''
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Palm Beach County has 54,360 Mexican-Americans as of 2010, outnumbering Cubans and Puerto Ricans. By contrast, Broward and Miami-Dade counties have a Mexican-American community of 30,926 and 50,459 respectively.

"Back in the day you had more migrant workers and landscapers, but [now] there are more affluent Mexican and Latinos in general,'' said Andre Verona, CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County. "They're buying property in affluent western communities and opening their own businesses.''

But there remain men and women who live in the shadows because of their immigration status.

Taco stands, quinceanera dress shops and hair salons with televisions locked on Telemundo line corridors in Lake Worth, an area with one of the largest communities of Mexicans.

Over at El Sol, a neighborhood resource center that connects day laborers with employers, staff noticed a slight decrease in the number of laborers looking for work.

On a recent workday, 93 showed up — down about 20 percent last year.

At the Guatemalan-Mayan Center in Lake Worth, where about 1,500 immigrants receive assistance with social services and other resources, about 25 percent of the families served are Mexican-American.

John Linstroth, executive director at the center said, "In our experience, people are dealing with the economy and are waiting it out.''

But it's not easy, he said. His group has had cases where fathers and mothers were deported and forced to leave their children and spouses behind.

Elizabeth Martinez, who is of Mexican descent, moved to Palm Beach County about 40 years ago and owns The Taco Lady restaurant in downtown Lake Worth.

Mexican-Americans "want to be able to work. That's the main thing,'' she said.

She said things shouldn't have to be so rough for newcomers who "do what they have to do and abide by the law.''

At a local beauty parlor in Lake Worth, a stylist identified only as Juanita, said she feels Mexicans are singled out unfairly in the immigration debate.

She said because many live with the fear of being deported, they are choosing to return on their own.

"A lot of my friends have gone back,'' she said, mostly because they work so hard to make ends meet here that there is little time left to spend with family.

geast@tribune.com or 954-572-2078.

Mexican immigrants noticing shrinking numbers in South Florida - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com