As U.S. economy sours, immigrants head for home
Mexico City reportedly is expecting the imminent return of 30,000 more immigrants than usual because of America's slumping economy. The U.S. Border Patrol says apprehensions for illegal crossings are down nearly 40 percent from 2005.
"So many immigrants in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are connected to the middle-class service sectors," said Janice Fine, an assistant professor of labor studies at Rutgers University and an expert on immigrant employment. "When executives and the middle class are affected by the downturn, they are less likely to use child care, landscapers, or go out to eat."
In Montgomery County, the Latino population is estimated at 24,000. Most Latinos live in the Norristown area, where Adamino Ortiz is watching jobs disappear and immigrants with them.
"They say the door is closing every day more and more," said Ortiz, interim executive director of ACLAMO - Accion Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County, an agency providing employment assistance to Hispanic immigrants in the county seat.
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