by Jonathan Higuera
José de la Isla
It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out: if you want to get undocumented Mexicans to move out of your community, take away their ability to work. It’s happening here in Arizona, where the employer sanctions passed into law last year is having the effect sought by its proponents.
Thousands of residents are picking up stakes and getting the hell out of this so-called desert paradise. Formerly teeming malls and food courts in blue-collar neighborhoods are no longer teeming. They may not be deserted but they aren’t bustling either. Enrollment at many elementary schools has dropped precipitously. When school officials visit those homes to find out where the children are, they are finding row after row of empty houses. Calls to landscapers, maids, nannies and cleaning crew members are going unanswered.
Although it’s difficult to quantify, anecdotal evidence is clear: these people are not staying in a state that has taken away their ability to earn a living.
They could probably withstand the demonization they have been subjected to from anti-immigrant bigots, or even the so-called “Crime Suppression Sweeps” by the local sheriff’s department, which has been terrorizing residents in areas where they believe undocumented residents live. They probably could even withstand the hotlines encouraging neighbors to report on neighbors they suspect are here illegally. All those actions have poisoned the atmosphere; probably much like Proposition 187 did in California years ago.
But Latinos in my native state have dealt with heavy-handed police tactics and racist rhetoric that blames them for all that ails the community.
This time, however, it is this singular act of taking away their ability to work that has made leaving their only choice.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the state’s employer sanctions law, it was signed by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano last year. It was based on the premise that the state had to act, given that the federal government had not reached a comprehensive immigration bill that would have dealt with the estimated 12 million people in this country without proper documents. It requires fines and suspensions for employers caught hiring undocumented workers. A second offense results in the firm having its business license revoked.
Although few if any employers have been prosecuted, they are reluctant to hire or keep workers who can’t prove they have a legal right to work here. I know of one employer who had repeatedly put off letting go any workers. But the sanctions law proved too much and it finally let go of those who could not document their status, including one who had worked her way up to shift manager. The outmigration couldn’t come at a worse time for the state’s economy.
It’s been reeling for a couple of years as the housing crisis has taken its toll. For decades, the residential construction industry has been a major engine in the local economy. It’s currently at a standstill.
Local businesses envisioned this scenario long before it came to pass. It’s one reason they fought the law so vociferously, only to be overwhelmed by those who called them greedy employers.
Now the end result is hitting them in their pocketbook. Sales and revenues are down at retail establishments ranging from Wal Mart to car dealerships to State Farm insurance offices. Labor at many establishments has also been lost and in many cases, not readily replaced.
Not long ago many big-city mayors, among them-New York’s Rudy Giuliani, threw open their doors to all immigrants. They understood that, regardless of status, the newcomers brought a vitality that had long fallen into decay. In Arizona. strip malls way past their prime, dying neighborhoods and dormant commercial districts had new life injected into them by the mostly Mexican newcomers seeking a better life. Their children, if not the parents, were beginning their ascent into the mainstream U.S. workforce, bringing energy and intellect to critical endeavors as they followed a path blazed by countless groups before them.
It seems like a faded memory now. Sure, some immigrants are still clinging to what they can do to stay here and survive. But those who came here to work are moving on. I’ve heard talk about moving to places such as Wisconsin, New Mexico or back to Mexico.
Make no mistake: Arizona has plenty of need for the labor they bring. The notion put forth by proponents that those jobs will be filled by U.S. citizens isn’t panning out either. Funny how few people really want to work in the Arizona sun for $8 an hour. Or clean a house for less than $100.
Time will tell if and when Arizona’s economy will pull itself out of its downward spiral. But let it be clear that driving off an embedded segment of its workforce wasn’t a smart move for a slumping economy. Hispanic Link.
