Most undocumented workers watching, waiting
Exodus hinges on 2 court challenges
Daniel González
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 8, 2007 12:00 AM

The state’s new employer-sanctions law and other measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration already have prompted many undocumented immigrants to pack up and move out of Arizona. But the majority of the 500,000 are staying put – for now.

Many are waiting to see if two lawsuits aimed at blocking the sanctions law are successful before making a decision to stay or go. Others are waiting to see how the law will be enforced.

If a large-scale exodus does materialize, it probably won’t begin until December, just before the new law takes effect Jan. 1, say immigrants, church leaders and immigrant advocates. December also is traditionally when many Mexican immigrants, who make up the bulk of the state’s undocumented population, return home for the holidays.

By then, a federal judge is expected to have ruled on lawsuits that claim the sanctions law should be struck down on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

“There is no doubt that people have left, but I see no evidence of massive leavings,” said Alfredo Gutierrez, who hosts a popular talk-radio program for immigrants on La Campesina (88.3 FM), a Spanish radio station. “But certainly people are really talking about it.”

Some are thinking about going back to Mexico. Others are considering moving to states such as Oregon, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois and New York. There is a perception that those states are more welcoming to immigrants because they have passed laws that make it easier for them to live there. New York, for example, passed a law in September allowing illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses, joining eight states with similar laws, among them Oregon, Utah and New Mexico

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