Hispanics feeling heat of enforcement
Regardless of citizenship status, Hispanics say they are being hurt by the ongoing immigration debate. In contrast, a recent study by the Congressional Budget Office reports that local and state governments are uniformly incurring costs due to the presence of undocumented immigrants.
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By the Numbers
•300,000: Number deported in 2007
•
84 percent: Rise in deportations over 2002
•900 percent: Rise in workplace raids between 2002 and 2007.
•7 to 8 million: Estimated number of undocumented workers in the U.S.
•1,562: Number of immigration bills introduced around the country as of last month.
•244: Number of those bills that were enacted.
•$1.6 billion: Budget in 2002 for patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border.
•$9 billion: Estimated cost of building a fence along the southwest corridor of the U.S.
•$1,700: Cost per arrest along the border, as of 2002.
•480,000 to 660,000: Estimated number of illegal immigrants settling in the U.S. between 1990 and 2004.
Sources: Pew Hispanic Center, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Immigration Forum.
More changes in Oklahoma
While immigration continues to poll as a priority for many Oklahoma voters, the state's current immigration law, House Bill 1804, may change during the upcoming legislative season.
Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole, has vowed to introduce legislation to repeal portions of HB 1804. Rep. Shane Jett, R-Tecumseh, plans to introduce a companion bill for a program similar to a statewide temporary worker program, softening the blow of the enforcement-heavy HB 1804.
On the other side, Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, plans to introduce what he calls the "Son of HB 1804” to strengthen immigration enforcement.
Coates says HB 1804 hampers economic growth and is causing a mass exodus of legal workers.
"The Hispanic family unit is such that they are not going to turn away a family member. Rather than subject themselves to the problems this immigration legislation has caused, they are pulling up stakes,” Coates said. "We are seeing a mass exodus of not just illegal immigrants but those that are fully documented.”
Oklahoma is home to thousands of families where one or two members are documented while other members of that same family are not.
"Since we are at full employment in Oklahoma, even when you lose a small number of workers, those jobs can't be filled. So companies are scaling back,” Coates said. "Our gross products are going to be affected, just because we do not have an adequate labor force.”
This stress has already begun to percolate into the retail and service sectors, said Guillermo Rojas, a Tulsa restaurateur.
"They don't go to buy cars. They are returning the cars. It's hurting the dealership, the salesman, and the restaurants. They don't sell the car, and then they don't come to spend money at the restaurant,” Rojas said. "The reality is, this is not only affecting illegal residents.”
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Related Topics:
Domestic Policy, Social Policy, Political Policy, Politics, Social Issues, Immigration Policy, Hispanic and Latino Issues, Immigration, Illegal Immigration and Deportation, Government and Politics
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