April 04, 2007

The Economist: Escape from LA - Los Angeles is losing its illegal immigrants. That's bad news

Get ready America - they ruined LA, they destroyed the American homebuilding industry, they're jobless and pissed, and now their coming to a community near you.

Here come the illegals...

FEW American neighbourhoods are so exuberantly Mexican as Boyle Heights in east Los Angeles. Paintings of the Virgin Mary adorn walls around César Chávez Avenue. Local shops advertise productos oaxaqueños.

Immigrants from south of the border, particularly the kind who carry dodgy Social Security cards, still fetch up in the area. But not as often as they did, according to Nativo Lopez, a Hispanic political activist who keeps an office in Boyle Heights. “This is no longer the west coast Ellis Island,” he says.

Just under 1m illegal immigrants are thought to live in Los Angeles County. That is twice as many as in any other American metropolis. Yet the number may have peaked. This month the Urban Institute, a think-tank, estimated that the county lost some 15,000 illicit residents between 2002 and 2004. In the same period America as a whole added more than 1m. Los Angeles's illegal immigrants are relatively old (only 42% are under 30, compared with 49% nationwide) and more likely to have American children. That suggests many will soon become citizens.

There are two reasons for this change. The first is that people who steal across the border or quietly outstay their visas now avoid Los Angeles, just as they increasingly bypass other traditional gateways such as New York and Chicago. The number of immigrants, both legal and illegal, arriving in Los Angeles has fallen since 1990 (see chart). In that year one out of every six recent immigrants lived in the metropolis. By 2005 the proportion was one in 14.

Increasingly, Mexican immigrants instead head to midwestern and southern states such as Ohio, Georgia and Texas. Construction sites and meat-packing plants there used to recruit many Hispanic labourers from California and other American states, says Jeffrey Passel, a demographer at the Pew Hispanic Centre. Now they are more likely to draw people from south of the border. Few people associate Dallas with illegal immigrants, but the Texas city has more of them as a proportion of its population than does Los Angeles.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

.
.
We're screwed!

Anonymous said...

Now that the economy is sputtering and a housing meltdown is on the horizon, ICE launched an operation and raided meat packing plants last fall. The message is to behave as things go south or you will be deported.

Anonymous said...

criminal invaders. if we had a leader with balls, we'd have the troops on our border. F iraq. how about machine gun turrets on the rio grande...that would stop illegal immigration in 1 day.

txchic57 said...

Well that comment about Dallas got me off the sidelines.

The freaking roaches are everwhere you look around here. The city of Farmers Branch tried to make it illegal to rent apartments to them but that caused a huge shitstorm among the politically correct and latinos, who are also trying to take over the city and state goverments. The gangs are out of control here. Ever hear of something called "cheese?" Look it up. Not the kind you eat by the way!

Anonymous said...

Afganistan-->Iraq-->Iran---> Mexico---> then the world!

Anonymous said...

Bigotry is depressing but especially coming from someone I truly admired and respected.

Anonymous said...

You're kidding, right? Is this a joke?

I mean, is this NEWS to you that immigrants have been spreading across the entire country for at least the past decade or two? Did you really not know that even states like New Hampshire have Mexicans living and working there? That even the Heartland states (like Nebraska) have seen an influx of illegal aliens, primarily to work in menial jobs that Big Business needs people for?

Wow, you used to be cutting edge, and ahead of the MSM, but you're decades too late on this one....

Anonymous said...

>> how about machine gun turrets on the rio grande...that would stop illegal immigration in 1 day.

That, and throwing the corpses back into Mexico...

Anonymous said...

I would welcome a statue of the Virgin Mary any day, and 10 times on Sunday rather than have to look at, or listen to Muslims. If this is what is going to save America from the Islamic onslaught then bring more Mexicans in.

Anonymous said...

if we had a leader with balls, we'd have the troops on our border. F iraq. how about machine gun turrets on the rio grande...that would stop illegal immigration in 1 day.

It would also KILL American business, which is just now as addicted to the cheap illegal labor, like it's crack.

Newsflash: Bush caters to not you, Joe Six Pack, but to BIG BUSINESS (not small business, BTW). Major employers have made it clear to Bush that they profit from cheap labor, and all the token efforts done so far to stem illegal immigration have been done simply for show. Trust and believe, there's NO desire to change this situation.

Funny, after all the saber-waving and talk of building fences last year, many growers in the Central Valley of California saw their crops die in the field, going unharvested; many farmers went bankrupt. The problem?

They couldn't get ANYONE to harvest their crops at ANY price because most illegals had left the area after being run off.

http://tinyurl.com/3x8bux

Result is now higher prices for food this year, which is an INFLATIONARY factor for J6P. It's called the law of unintended consequences, so be careful what you wish for, since God sometimes punishes those by granting them their wishes.

Anonymous said...

WTF
Why in the world are the Cubans and Mexicans risking it all to come to the US and in the end being mistreated by white folks
I would cross into Iran, look how nice they treat people who cross into their country.
Free room and board.
Free custom tailored suits
So what that I’ll have to sit on the floor for my meals,
its still cheaper then Mexico or Cuba, and no white folks to deal with.

Anonymous said...

A POWDER KEG WAITING TO BLOW

Anonymous said...

Too bad, I flew through Dallas last weekend, what an armpit. Who cares?

Anonymous said...

"It would also KILL American business, which is just now as addicted to the cheap illegal labor, like it's crack"


AT THIS POINT... i don't care... F these businesses that spit on citizens and exploit the illegals. the corps do a dubble F ont he country... move jobs out, and what jobs are left they hire illegals at 1/3 the cost of a citizen.

I AM A F*CKING CITIZEN FIRST AND FOREVER.

NOT A 'worker'
not a 'consumer'
not a 'tax payer'
not a 'bushbot'

I AM A GOD DAMN F*CKING CITIZEN AND I WANT MY COUTNRY BACK.

WHO THE F*CK DO THESE VERMEN THINK THEY ARE COMING TO MY COUNTRY AND TURNING IT INTO THE SESSPOOL THEY CAME FROM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Never posted before, but why do you consider this an issue? Ignorance and bigotry don't suit you at all.

Stick to what you do best, commenting on the housing panic.

Anonymous said...

>Stick to what you do best, >commenting on the housing panic.

There is some correlation between the two here in DC. Look at the domestic migration of the immediate DC area vs the foreign immigration.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/census_0307/flash.htm

Who drove up housing in DC area? Hint: it wasn't Americans.

Anonymous said...

Yes, immigration definitely connects with the housing bubble--how many "non-citizens" do you think got sucked into the subprime vortex, convinced by some loan huckster that they could OWN a house if they signed on the dotted line, with (initial) payments of only XXX?

If it's going on in CA, you can bet it's happening in other places as well . . .

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your fellow bigots' approbation; you have made it impossible for the rest of us to point you out as a beacon of sanity and moderation.

Anonymous said...

America wasn't built with illegal immigrant labor. The period from the 1930's until the 1970's had almost no immigration at all, yet the country was able to keep its place as a superpower. The flood of illegal immigrants began in the 1980's as greedy corporations sought out ways to make that extra dollar and Reagan foolishly obliged to their wishes. That supposedly cheap labor costs a great deal in social services and prisons. MS-13 and the 18th St Gang are the two largest gangs in the country. They are both mainly comprised of illegal immigrants or children of illegals. The FBI considers MS-13 to be the most violent and dangerous gang in the country. Even though the police know who the gang members are, and that they are here illegally, politically correct politicians and their greedy business allies have passed law prohibiting local law enforcement in large cities from contacting immigration authorities.

Anonymous said...

Mexicans, especially the illegals

Do Not Respect American Rule of Law!

They want the American dream without the investment!

Anonymous said...

>There is some correlation between the two here in DC. Look at the domestic migration of the immediate DC area vs the foreign immigration.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/census_0307/flash.htm

Who drove up housing in DC area? Hint: it wasn't Americans.

-----------------------------------

Don't hate the player, hate the game! Illegals got access to easy credit and pushed up housing prices. So what? So did a lot of poor people. Trying to turn this into a border issue is a real stretch and out of scope for this site.

Anonymous said...

"Never posted before, but why do you consider this an issue? Ignorance and bigotry don't suit you at all." - where did you see bigotry and ignorance, Anon? You are a racist...

Anonymous said...

Maybe those growers should get some machines if they can't find any Americans. Which they can't BECAUSE all the working-class white Americans in Cali were run out a long time ago because they couldn't get any work.

Instead, they want their precious mexicans. Dumb@sses.

Anonymous said...

I'm in Phoenix. I grew up in El Paso so I'm used to being a minority, but I'm noticing a change.

- The # of beat up cars has been rising recently.
- A few new Mexican restaurants around (I love Mexican food).
- The work force at the low end retail places have turned near 100% Mexican

The ones I've come into contact with are all very happy. Geniunely.

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of fascists we have here.

Just go run to government, they'll fix it just the way you like it! Yeah, right.

Idiots.

Anonymous said...

>>>Ignorance and bigotry don't suit you at all.<<<

It is not bigotry to favor immigration laws and their enforcement. Bigotry would be an equal number of illegal European immigrants streaming into our country but drawing no similiar outrage. I can honestly say that I am against ANY illegal immigration to this country, especially when done on a grand scale.

Ignorance is thinking that our institutons, our schools, hospitals and social services network can absorb an infinite number of human beings. THEY CANNOT! Not only is unchecked immigartion cutting the wage levels of working-class people, but it causes a heavy tax burden as well. Not a good combination for any nation.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you anon we you say some bleeding hearts think our country can "absorb an infinite number of human beings. THEY CANNOT" Search on "immigration by the numbers" in Google Video and listen closely. This is NOT THE ANSWER.

People have to fix there our countries and the world ecomonic model has to adapt to an emphasis on capital intensive production (vs labor intensive production). Globalism has wrecked most of the world in this regard by causing the agricultural culture in places like Mexico to go to crap overnight. The big picture.

Anonymous said...

Well, some Americans had to hire them. So who are you going to blame, the drug dealer of the user?

Anonymous said...

Guess what? There are lots and lots of Americans retiring in Latin America because they are a little short on the nest egg. As the Baby Boomers reach retirement age, you will see a ton of them invading Latin America in order to make ends meet.

Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

Anonymous said...

"you will see a ton of them invading Latin America in order to make ends meet."

This is true also, but why must I wait till retirement? What if I want to go there now and take some highly skilled Mexican job that Mexicans "aren't trained to do." And can I get the property rights, government services, or protections of liberties Mexicans are offered in America?

You see, our government has never tried and bargain for American rights south of the border. Because our government doesn't want to loose the tax base. When the day you speak of comes to pass and boomers flee en masse, I wonder what law Washington DC will pass to keep social security and our nest eggs from being spent in another land. The big picture again - is our government doesn't represent our interests anymore.

Anonymous said...

Politicians decide that it is in "our best interest/safety" to invade another country and spend billions of dollar to do so and it happens within a few months, yet that same group of politicians can't seem to figure out a solution to the immigration "problem" in decades time? I think the government/big business don't see a problem with having an endless supply of cheap immigrant labor - so they don't stop it. If you are so uneducated/unskilled that someone from a 3rd world country who doesn't even speak english can come here and "take" your job - then it sucks to be you. :)

Anonymous said...

I wonder why Mexico is such a shithole? Is it a lack of natural resources? No. It is geography? No. What could it be?