Illegals flee Ariz. amid new laws, slow economy

Crackdown leading migrants to return home or try their luck elsewhere

PHOENIX - Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states.

For months, immigrants have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the state's new employer-sanctions law, which takes effect Jan. 1. The voter-approved legislation is an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants in Arizona, the busiest crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border.

And by all appearances, it's starting to work.

"People are calling me telling me about their friend, their cousin, their neighbors — they're moving back to Mexico," said Magdalena Schwartz, an immigrant-rights activist and pastor at a Mesa church. "They don't want to live in fear, in terror."

Martin Herrera, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant and masonry worker who lives in Camp Verde, 70 miles north of Phoenix, said he is planning to return to Mexico as soon as he ties up loose ends after living here for four years.

"I don't want to live here because of the new law and the oppressive environment," he said. "I'll be better in my country."

He called the employer-sanctions law "absurd."

"Everybody here, legally or illegally, we are part of a motor that makes this country run," Herrera said. "Once we leave, the motor is going to start to slow down."

Bill's author: ‘I'm hoping they will self-deport’
There's no way to know how many illegal immigrants are leaving Arizona, especially now with many returning home for normal holidays visits. But economists, immigration lawyers and people who work in the immigrant community agree it's happening.

State Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, the author of the employer sanctions law, said his intent was to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona.

"I'm hoping they will self-deport," Pearce said. "They broke the law. They're criminals."

Under the employer sanctions law, businesses found to have knowingly hired illegal workers will be subject to sanctions from probation to a 10-day suspension of their business licenses. A second violation would bring permanent revocation of the license.

Nancy-Jo Merritt, an immigration lawyer who primarily represents employers, said her clients already have started to fire workers who can't prove they are in the country legally.

"Workers are being fired, of course," she said. "Nobody wants to find out later on that they've got somebody working for them who's not here legally."

When immigrants don't have jobs, they don't stick around, said Dawn McLaren, a research economist at Arizona State University who specializes in illegal immigration.

Flagging economy provide fewer opportunities
She said the flagging economy, particularly in the construction industry, also is contributing to an immigrant exodus.

"As the jobs dwindle and the environment becomes more unpleasant in more ways than one, you then decide what to do, and perhaps leaving looks like a good idea," she said. "And certainly that creates a problem, because as people leave, they take the jobs they created with them."

Pearce disagreed that the Arizona economy will suffer after illegal immigrants leave, saying there will be less crime, lower taxes, less congestion, smaller classroom sizes and shorter lines in emergency rooms.

"We have a free market. It'll adjust," he said. "Americans will be much better off."

He said he's not surprised illegal immigrants are leaving the state and predicts that more will go once the employer-sanctions law takes effect next month.

"It's attrition by enforcement," he said. "As you make this an unfriendly state for lawbreakers, I'm hoping they will pick up and leave."

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22370480/

Sunday, 12/23/07

Hiring law takes effect Jan. 1

Businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants must fire them

On. Jan. 1, Tennessee will join one other state in doing what many say the federal government does not: forcing employers to hire only legal workers.

Here and in Arizona, employers that knowingly hire illegal immigrants will be forced to fire them. Those caught again in a three-year period can lose their business licenses for one year in Tennessee and permanently in Arizona. A similar Oklahoma law will be effective in July.

"I think we've got a strong law. Things will probably start out slow," said state Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, one of the law's sponsors. "But I think by March, we are going to start seeing an increase in the number of illegals moving to other states."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona is challenging that state's law. A federal judge on Friday refused to delay its Jan. 1 start, but an appeal and other suits are pending. At issue is whether states can impose requirements and penalties that conflict with federal law.

None of the Tennessee advocates or business groups contacted last week planned to file a suit here, saying they'll wait and see how things play out.

"There's a lot here that's unknown, starting with just how vigorously the state will administer the law," said Linda Rose, a Nashville immigration attorney who has worked with area employers and individuals for more than 20 years.

"I wouldn't say there's panic. But I wouldn't say that our legislators have really thought through the economic impact this legislation could have, either. I can tell you this for sure. A day without Mexicans would be a very sad day in Tennessee."

Agencies will report

Under the new law, Tennessee's state and local government agencies can report to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development any of the state's roughly 110,000 employers if they are suspected of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

State and local agencies may become aware of such situations when they make an arrest, when they conduct safety and other types of inspections, or through tips from the general public.

Employers who meet existing federal requirements, which require new hires to fill out a form called an I-9 and provide information such as a Social Security card and driver's license, will not be penalized, said Dan Bailey, general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Neither will those who run the names of new hires through a federal database known as E-verify, formerly known as Basic Pilot. It checks to see if the name provided by a worker matches the government-issued Social Security number and birth date association with that name.

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce has described the state law as "tough but fair."

"This is a prime immigration bill," said Bradley Jackson, vice president of governmental affairs for the Tennessee Chamber, which represents about 1,000 businesses and large business coalitions. "We were very happy with the bill that we ultimately got."

Early versions of the law would have fined business owners or permanently revoked the business licenses of repeat offenders.

It's state's second try

Tennessee tried a similar law calling for misdemeanor criminal penalties, fines and license revocation in 1983. It was never enforced because the U.S. Justice Department said parts of it conflicted with federal law, said Dan Bailey, general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Three years later, President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which outlawed knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and created the I-9 form.

But officials didn't stringently enforce the law, and both employers and employees found creative and sometimes criminal ways around it, said Jessica Vaughan, a senior policy analyst with the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies. The center advocates for stricter immigration policy and enforcement.

"What you got was a situation where Social Security numbers became black-market commodities," said Vaughan, an advocate of E-verify.

Who is an employee?

Another potential way around Tennessee's new law lies in just who is an employee.

In Tennessee, as in most states, the number of people who work as independent contractors in a variety of industries is growing. In 2000, there were 194,497 self-employed individuals. By 2006, that figure is estimated to have grown 12 percent to 218,465, according to U.S. Census data.

While the increase in self-employed individuals cannot be attributed to illegal immigration alone, there are industries — such as construction, commercial cleaning and landscaping — in which subcontractors and even independent contractors are more common at job sites than traditional employees. In 2006, half or more of the workers in the construction and hospitality industries were foreign-born, according to U.S. Department of Labor Statistics data.

Some of these workers are legal. Some are not.

Spring Miller, an attorney with Southern Migrant Legal Services, fears that some employers will feel emboldened by the new law and exploit immigrant workers. Others, afraid of the law and its penalties, will simply refuse to hire anyone who looks or sounds foreign, Miller said.

"We just hope that the (labor) department would continue to enforce protections for all workers regardless of immigration status," Miller said.

The 12 inspectors who this year handled the state's 2,514 child labor and unpaid-wage investigations will have to add enforcing Tennessee's new law to their responsibilities in 2008, Bailey said. The legislature provided no additional resources.

Sen. Ketron said he would closely watch what happens and "stand ready to amend any section of the law that isn't working."

     Arizona and Tennessee are two states that are not waiting on the Federal government to do something about illegal immigration. On January 1, '08 some tough laws go into effect that penalize employers of illegal immigrants and I am sure many American citizens are saying "right on"! The result of these laws will be voluntary deportation or immigration to another state. This is not an overnight solution but it is a good beginning. Illegal immigration will stop when there is no work for illegal immigrants. I am dreaming of all the states following the lead of Arizona and Tennessee in the fight against illegal immigration.

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