Anti-immigrant groups have talked about being in favor of “attrition by enforcement” – that is, giving undocumented workers incentive to leave the country by stepping up enforcement at workplaces. However, a report at the CNN Web site indicates that many immigrants, who came here to fill jobs Americans couldn’t or wouldn’t during the boom times, are leaving simply because they can’t find work anymore. The U.S. Census Bureau says that 1 million undocumented immigrants left the country last year and that remittances by those who stayed to their families back in their home countries decreased. Still others find that even in a down economy they can make more than they did back home by working only a few days a month.
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About Curt Kipp
Curt Kipp is the director of publications and communications at the Oregon Association of Nurseries, and the editor of Digger magazine.