Atlanta – South Georgia communities whose economies have been revitalized by the arrival of thousands of immigrants over the past five years see those gains threatened by new measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.
Andrea Cruz of the Southeast Georgia Communities Project, a non-profit organization that assists the area’s immigrants, estimates that more than 400 people have had to leave Toombs County fearing raids by immigration authorities.
In the small town of Stillmore last month a sweep by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement nabbed 120 undocumented immigrants.
“Why us? Why our town?,” asked Mayor Marylin Slater, a great-grandmother in her 80s who has lived in Stillmore since 1945, perplexed by the forcible evacuations.
A big problem facing the town is a constantly overflowing sewage system brought on by overcrowded one-family houses with as many as 15 to 20 immigrants living in each one.
Stillmore now has to install a new system with a $1-million price tag.
The only revenues City Hall receives from its inhabitants is for water and sewer services. Slater said that the town relied on fees paid by many immigrant families who have had to leave due to the roundups.
“We have to pay this bill,” the mayor said, referring to the upgrade of the sewer system.
Slater added that although no local business has had to close as yet, some have seen a steep slide in their income due to illegals being picked up by the authorities.
Adalberto Garcia, who works in the Sucursal Salinas store on the main street of town, said that the owner, Carlos Salinas, said he might have to close down because his clientele has dropped from 60 customers a day to about three since the roundups started.
Today the only customers are Ines Hernandez and her husband, who are buying a suitcase to pack up their things and go back to Mexico.
“There’s no more work here,” said Hernandez, an immigrant from the poor southern state of Oaxaca.
Oralia Garcia from the La Michoacana store in Lyons, another Toombs County community, said that sales fell 70 percent during the weeks after the roundups and they are still not back to normal.
“My business depends on Hispanics. If there are no Hispanics, there’s no business,” said Garcia, who immigrated to the United States 17 years ago and is a legal resident.
Dennis Allen is the president of Queensborough Bank in Toombs County and works in the town of Metter. Due to the great immigrant demand, his bank opened a branch offering services in Spanish.
To date he has had to close some 20 bank accounts of people who have moved to other states or have gone back to Mexico.
These anti-immigrant measures, Allen said, “are going to harm many businesses and the local economy. They (the immigrants) are part of our economy, and the small towns are going to suffer.”
The agricultural industry in Lyons has also reported losses. Peter Gore of Classic Vidalia farm said that in September he lost some $15,000 when he lacked sufficient workers to harvest 50 acres of cucumbers.
“It’s getting difficult,” said Marta Avila, an undocumented immigrant who works packing products on Gore’s farm.
Avila is the mother of an 8-year-old boy and said that for her “it is very hard to work and leave the kids off at school. If I get picked up, who is going to pick them up?”
There are still no official figures on the economic impact of Georgia’s anti-immigrant measures. But according to ICE spokesperson Mark Raimondi, a town whose economic model depends on illegal immigration “is not using the best model.” EFE
