The focus of debate may be shifting on illegal immigration. Some of the undocumented are said to be leaving the U.S. as a sagging economy offers fewer jobs. Reports from Florida attribute that state’s exodus to downturns in agriculture, construction, food processing, and the service industry.
Numbers are elusive. But if the population of illegals shrink significantly, some politicians would tout the success of their enforcement drives. Caution: When crime plunged nationally in the 1990’s, elected officials congratulated their police strategies, but some experts saw bottom-up social changes, like a decline in crack use, as also key.
Dan Janison