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| Topic: Specter of Arizona immigration law slowly drains economy | |
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Specter of Arizona immigration law slowly drains economy
By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN July 29, 2010 12:11 p.m. EDT STORY HIGHLIGHTS * Anecdotal evidence indicates mere specter of immigration bill is slowly paralyzing economy * Hispanics make up 30 percent of the state's population * Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill in April; jobless rate has risen each month since * Real estate agents, restaurant owner report big slowdown in business Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) -- Jairo Tellez's seafood distribution business is a family affair. In the industrial warehouse that houses J and V Mariscos on the west side of Phoenix, his wife, Vicki, and four of his seven children load trucks, take phone calls, enter data and help care for his infant grandson, who has a playpen in Tellez's office. But with portions of Arizona's controversial immigration enforcement law set to take effect Thursday, the business is in limbo. "If people are not eating, we're not selling," said Wendy Cisneros, a family friend who works in the back office. "We've lost 60 percent of sales, and right now the future's uncertain. We don't know if we're going to stay in the state; we don't know if we're going to close the business. Everything's up in the air." Most of their clients cater to the Latino community, which has effectively gone into hiding amid concerns that they may have to leave the state as soon as the bill becomes law, Cisneros said. A key part of Arizona's immigration law was temporarily blocked by a judge Wednesday. This means police won't be required to ask people about their immigration status. Toobin: What does Arizona immigration ruling mean? But for the Tellez family business and others like it, the damage from the controversy already is done. Reduced spending in restaurants, grocery and retail stores has triggered a domino effect among businesses in the metro Phoenix business community and throughout Arizona. To stay afloat even as their clients disappear or reduce inventory orders, the business has reduced employees' hours and cut back operations in the industrial warehouse, home to several large freezers and forklifts and an office sparsely decorated with posters of illustrated fish and cuts of meat. Perhaps the toughest decision was to halt lines of credit to customers, even those with good history, she said. Video: Economic impact of law Video: What's next for Arizona law? Video: College degree, but no papers Video: Next steps for law dispute RELATED TOPICS * Arizona Immigration * Immigration Policy * Phoenix (Arizona) "We can't really offer credit anymore because we don't know if next week they're going to close the business," Cisneros said. "But it's also a downside because some customers need that credit to operate." Firm numbers illuminating the economic fallout of SB 1070 are hard to come by as the bill has yet to take effect. Also, summer tends to be slow for business and tourism in Arizona because it's so hot. But anecdotal evidence from business owners, real estate agents and community leaders indicates the mere specter of the bill has created a culture of fear among Hispanics in Arizona that's slowly paralyzing sectors of the economy. Hispanics make up 30 percent of the state's population. The state's unemployment rate in June rose for the third month in a row, to 9.7 percent. Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill in April. Traditionally, community groups look to indicators such as the housing market, school enrollment and data from utility companies to track economic fluctuations within a certain group, said Edmundo Hidalgo, president and CEO of Chicanos Por La Causa, a community outreach program in Phoenix. Based on feedback from clients and preliminary data, Hidalgo said his group estimates that rental vacancies in predominantly Latino neighborhoods will be 10 to 15 percent higher than the normal rate of 12 percent. "People are scared, and they don't want to wait around to find out what's going to happen with SB 1070," said Hidalgo, whose group offers housing, economic and education services to low-income families and individuals, both undocumented and U.S.-born. "Regardless of their status, people are frustrated with an environment that's not accepting and potentially threatening, and they're fed up with being targeted and singled out by law enforcement. It's driving them out of the state, and not necessarily to better situations." Reactions to the Arizona immigration law injunction The Arizona housing market, which was already suffering from one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, has also taken an extra hit since the passage of the law, according to real estate agents who spoke with CNN. Some homeowners who purchased property in the past year are looking to unload, according to Saul Pua, a real estate agent who sells residential properties in neighborhoods in Phoenix's Latino communities. "Most families usually have one person who doesn't have papers, and they don't want to risk being arrested and splitting up the family by staying in Arizona," said Pua, who is married to one of the daughters of Tellez, the owner of J and V Mariscos. Even during the recession, Pua said business was good because property was cheap, and that in better times, he closed an average of five transactions a month. Since the beginning of the year, however, he has been lucky to sell two properties in a month, and in July, he hasn't closed a single deal. "I had investors buying properties, but now's who gonna rent them?" he said. Commercial real estate developer Michael Pollack was in the same situation leading up to Wednesday's ruling. Since April, clients in predominantly Latino neighborhoods across the state had been pulling out of properties or calling to relay concerns over whether they should stay if the law goes into effect. Today, Pollack said he received several calls from clients expressing relief and letting him know they intended to stay. "The ruling today has definitely been a move in the right direction for commercial tenants and their customers, who've been scared that Arizona wasn't going be friendly to Hispanic community," he said. "This gives the federal government to get to work implementing an immigration policy that the American people will support unanimously and deals with the situation at the border, which is where the real problem is." Phoenix's sprawling concrete landscape bears testimony to the abundance of vacant residential and commercial property. "For sale" signs in English and Spanish adorn brown, sun-scorched lawns and dilapidated parking lots alike, from the heart of downtown Phoenix to as far as Chandler and Mesa -- the district of SB 1070's sponsor, Republican Sen. Russell Pearce. Boarded-up big-box stores loom large in their vast emptiness, and rows of abandoned strip mall storefronts outnumber those that are occupied in some parts. Not only businesses targeting the Latino community are suffering. Economic boycotts adopted by other states and cities have hit Arizona's meeting and convention business. Since groups nationwide began announcing boycotts of the state because of SB 1070, at least 40 meetings have been canceled. That's resulted in the loss of $12 million in lodging alone, according to Kristen Jarnagin, spokeswoman for the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association. Summer is typically the low season, she noted, and pointed out that tourism was up 8 percent statewide in June 2010 compared with June 2009, which was one of the "worst summers ever" because of the recession. Despite that slight uptick, more telling is the lack of inquiries for future bookings, she said. "What we're hearing from meeting planners now is they won't and can't consider Arizona for 2011, 2012 meetings not necessarily because of their own stance on SB 1070 or the boycott but just because they want to avoid the controversy and don't want to risk losing attendance," she said. The absence of meetings and conventions not only affects the hotel industry and its 200,000 employees, but also ancillary businesses such as restaurants, retailers and taxis, Jarnagin said. It seems that not even fast-food joints are immune to the encroaching economic fallout of SB 1070. As the four Tellez children stood with their parents in their office Wednesday, recounting tales of friends and relatives who have left town or seen families torn apart, daughter Nikki noted her surprise at seeing a shuttered Burger King. "I was driving down Camelback with my dad and Burger King was closed, and I was like, when have you seen that? Like Burger King -- everybody goes to Burger King, and that was closed down." http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/28/arizona.immigration.economy/index.html?hpt=T2 Maybe they will learn in Arizona that perpetuating hatred never pays well. |
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Edited by
mightymoe
on
Thu 07/29/10 12:48 PM
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Specter of Arizona immigration law slowly drains economy By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN July 29, 2010 12:11 p.m. EDT STORY HIGHLIGHTS * Anecdotal evidence indicates mere specter of immigration bill is slowly paralyzing economy * Hispanics make up 30 percent of the state's population * Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill in April; jobless rate has risen each month since * Real estate agents, restaurant owner report big slowdown in business Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) -- Jairo Tellez's seafood distribution business is a family affair. In the industrial warehouse that houses J and V Mariscos on the west side of Phoenix, his wife, Vicki, and four of his seven children load trucks, take phone calls, enter data and help care for his infant grandson, who has a playpen in Tellez's office. But with portions of Arizona's controversial immigration enforcement law set to take effect Thursday, the business is in limbo. "If people are not eating, we're not selling," said Wendy Cisneros, a family friend who works in the back office. "We've lost 60 percent of sales, and right now the future's uncertain. We don't know if we're going to stay in the state; we don't know if we're going to close the business. Everything's up in the air." Most of their clients cater to the Latino community, which has effectively gone into hiding amid concerns that they may have to leave the state as soon as the bill becomes law, Cisneros said. A key part of Arizona's immigration law was temporarily blocked by a judge Wednesday. This means police won't be required to ask people about their immigration status. Toobin: What does Arizona immigration ruling mean? But for the Tellez family business and others like it, the damage from the controversy already is done. Reduced spending in restaurants, grocery and retail stores has triggered a domino effect among businesses in the metro Phoenix business community and throughout Arizona. To stay afloat even as their clients disappear or reduce inventory orders, the business has reduced employees' hours and cut back operations in the industrial warehouse, home to several large freezers and forklifts and an office sparsely decorated with posters of illustrated fish and cuts of meat. Perhaps the toughest decision was to halt lines of credit to customers, even those with good history, she said. Video: Economic impact of law Video: What's next for Arizona law? Video: College degree, but no papers Video: Next steps for law dispute RELATED TOPICS * Arizona Immigration * Immigration Policy * Phoenix (Arizona) "We can't really offer credit anymore because we don't know if next week they're going to close the business," Cisneros said. "But it's also a downside because some customers need that credit to operate." Firm numbers illuminating the economic fallout of SB 1070 are hard to come by as the bill has yet to take effect. Also, summer tends to be slow for business and tourism in Arizona because it's so hot. But anecdotal evidence from business owners, real estate agents and community leaders indicates the mere specter of the bill has created a culture of fear among Hispanics in Arizona that's slowly paralyzing sectors of the economy. Hispanics make up 30 percent of the state's population. The state's unemployment rate in June rose for the third month in a row, to 9.7 percent. Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill in April. Traditionally, community groups look to indicators such as the housing market, school enrollment and data from utility companies to track economic fluctuations within a certain group, said Edmundo Hidalgo, president and CEO of Chicanos Por La Causa, a community outreach program in Phoenix. Based on feedback from clients and preliminary data, Hidalgo said his group estimates that rental vacancies in predominantly Latino neighborhoods will be 10 to 15 percent higher than the normal rate of 12 percent. "People are scared, and they don't want to wait around to find out what's going to happen with SB 1070," said Hidalgo, whose group offers housing, economic and education services to low-income families and individuals, both undocumented and U.S.-born. "Regardless of their status, people are frustrated with an environment that's not accepting and potentially threatening, and they're fed up with being targeted and singled out by law enforcement. It's driving them out of the state, and not necessarily to better situations." Reactions to the Arizona immigration law injunction The Arizona housing market, which was already suffering from one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, has also taken an extra hit since the passage of the law, according to real estate agents who spoke with CNN. Some homeowners who purchased property in the past year are looking to unload, according to Saul Pua, a real estate agent who sells residential properties in neighborhoods in Phoenix's Latino communities. "Most families usually have one person who doesn't have papers, and they don't want to risk being arrested and splitting up the family by staying in Arizona," said Pua, who is married to one of the daughters of Tellez, the owner of J and V Mariscos. Even during the recession, Pua said business was good because property was cheap, and that in better times, he closed an average of five transactions a month. Since the beginning of the year, however, he has been lucky to sell two properties in a month, and in July, he hasn't closed a single deal. "I had investors buying properties, but now's who gonna rent them?" he said. Commercial real estate developer Michael Pollack was in the same situation leading up to Wednesday's ruling. Since April, clients in predominantly Latino neighborhoods across the state had been pulling out of properties or calling to relay concerns over whether they should stay if the law goes into effect. Today, Pollack said he received several calls from clients expressing relief and letting him know they intended to stay. "The ruling today has definitely been a move in the right direction for commercial tenants and their customers, who've been scared that Arizona wasn't going be friendly to Hispanic community," he said. "This gives the federal government to get to work implementing an immigration policy that the American people will support unanimously and deals with the situation at the border, which is where the real problem is." Phoenix's sprawling concrete landscape bears testimony to the abundance of vacant residential and commercial property. "For sale" signs in English and Spanish adorn brown, sun-scorched lawns and dilapidated parking lots alike, from the heart of downtown Phoenix to as far as Chandler and Mesa -- the district of SB 1070's sponsor, Republican Sen. Russell Pearce. Boarded-up big-box stores loom large in their vast emptiness, and rows of abandoned strip mall storefronts outnumber those that are occupied in some parts. Not only businesses targeting the Latino community are suffering. Economic boycotts adopted by other states and cities have hit Arizona's meeting and convention business. Since groups nationwide began announcing boycotts of the state because of SB 1070, at least 40 meetings have been canceled. That's resulted in the loss of $12 million in lodging alone, according to Kristen Jarnagin, spokeswoman for the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association. Summer is typically the low season, she noted, and pointed out that tourism was up 8 percent statewide in June 2010 compared with June 2009, which was one of the "worst summers ever" because of the recession. Despite that slight uptick, more telling is the lack of inquiries for future bookings, she said. "What we're hearing from meeting planners now is they won't and can't consider Arizona for 2011, 2012 meetings not necessarily because of their own stance on SB 1070 or the boycott but just because they want to avoid the controversy and don't want to risk losing attendance," she said. The absence of meetings and conventions not only affects the hotel industry and its 200,000 employees, but also ancillary businesses such as restaurants, retailers and taxis, Jarnagin said. It seems that not even fast-food joints are immune to the encroaching economic fallout of SB 1070. As the four Tellez children stood with their parents in their office Wednesday, recounting tales of friends and relatives who have left town or seen families torn apart, daughter Nikki noted her surprise at seeing a shuttered Burger King. "I was driving down Camelback with my dad and Burger King was closed, and I was like, when have you seen that? Like Burger King -- everybody goes to Burger King, and that was closed down." http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/28/arizona.immigration.economy/index.html?hpt=T2 Maybe they will learn in Arizona that perpetuating hatred never pays well. thats all over the country, not just AZ. in florida, their are over a million houses sitting empty that people lost, that can't be sold. thats just a propaganda statement that people like yourself are foolish enough to believe. this has been happening a long time before that bill was even thought of. |
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Maybe wishful thinking for those who are now realizing what a mess they started.
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All I have to say is that unless you live in AZ and have fisrt hand knowledge of what is happening and what the problem is, all you have to go on is the propaganda that you are being fed.
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All I have to say is that unless you live in AZ and have fisrt hand knowledge of what is happening and what the problem is, all you have to go on is the propaganda that you are being fed. the housing crunch has been happening for about 3 years now... when did AZ introduce this bill? wishful thinking or not, why did obama have to bail out the homeowners and mortgage companies ? why has real estate dropped all over the country 3 years ago? their are empty commercial properties all over the US that cannot get leased. you always seem smart, smarter than to believe this anyway. do some studying, look around the US. AZ has nothing to do with any of this. |
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All I have to say is that unless you live in AZ and have fisrt hand knowledge of what is happening and what the problem is, all you have to go on is the propaganda that you are being fed. No offense here but it makes sense that Arizona is going to suffer repercussions for this misstep. And it is a misstep. They can be given credit for trying to solve a problem but a smack in the head for making a bad choice. As for mo, none of your post makes sense. Noone is saying Arizona has any affect on the rest of the country. Obama wasn't in office three years ago. The article states that preliminary assessment seems to be showing that 1070 is impacting Arizona's economy negatively. |
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All I have to say is that unless you live in AZ and have fisrt hand knowledge of what is happening and what the problem is, all you have to go on is the propaganda that you are being fed. No offense here but it makes sense that Arizona is going to suffer repercussions for this misstep. And it is a misstep. They can be given credit for trying to solve a problem but a smack in the head for making a bad choice. As for mo, none of your post makes sense. Noone is saying Arizona has any affect on the rest of the country. Obama wasn't in office three years ago. The article states that preliminary assessment seems to be showing that 1070 is impacting Arizona's economy negatively. i'm saying its nationwide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! obama, Az. the bill, ALL HAD NOTHING TO WITH IT... it is /has been happing ALL OVER THE ENTIRE COUNTRY for about 3-5 years. |
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Edited by
Dragoness
on
Thu 07/29/10 02:14 PM
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Mo, Agreed but the article is saying that the law is impacting the economy in Arizona and it makes sense that it is and will.
I know I have boycotted Arizona and will continue to do so. I also recommend all my friends and family do the same. Until the law is repealed or removed or whatever to take it off the books there. I will not support any state that supports racial bias in their laws. |
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What's impacting AZ's economy negatively is (1) the Federal Government, (2) Illegal Aliens, (3) 'Boycott' campaigns, (4) Unions and Union Sympathizers marching in the streets of AZ, (5) Unfavorable and biased 'coverage' by the State-controlled 'media' of what's actually taking place in AZ, and (6) Idiots who are biased against their own country in favor of ILLEGAL ALIENS and a Do-Nothing Federal 'government'.
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I have a lot of friends that live in AZ, and they tell me that at least half of the junk they see on the TV news regarding the issues are absolute BS, and fabricated media lies.
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I love my country.
But as with all humans it has room for improvement. I will continue to try to help improve the country that I love. |
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I love my country. But as with all humans it has room for improvement. I will continue to try to help improve the country that I love. Then I challenge you to start by renouncing Obama and his policies ... |
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By labeling everyone you dont agree with as racists, bigots, & haters??
So you think Im all of those because I hate the govt. and I hate high taxes, and I hate the politicians who are hell bent on sytematically dismantling the country and my personal rights and freedoms?? |
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I love my country. But as with all humans it has room for improvement. I will continue to try to help improve the country that I love. Then I challenge you to start by renouncing Obama and his policies ... Not. Because that is not what is best for this country. |
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By labeling everyone you dont agree with as racists, bigots, & haters?? So you think Im all of those because I hate the govt. and I hate high taxes, and I hate the politicians who are hell bent on sytematically dismantling the country and my personal rights and freedoms?? I don't label everyone racists, bigots and haters. I label racist, bigoted and hating ideology what it is. This country being founded by racists, has a problem in that area to this day. It should be a fight all Americans are willing to fight. |
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I love my country. But as with all humans it has room for improvement. I will continue to try to help improve the country that I love. Then I challenge you to start by renouncing Obama and his policies ... Not. Because that is not what is best for this country. Cursing those who are fed up with high taxes and want relief?? Cursing those who oppose big intrusive govt.?? |
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I don't label everyone racists, bigots and haters. I label racist, bigoted and hating ideology what it is. This country being founded by racists, has a problem in that area to this day. It should be a fight all Americans are willing to fight. |
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I love my country. But as with all humans it has room for improvement. I will continue to try to help improve the country that I love. Then I challenge you to start by renouncing Obama and his policies ... Not. Because that is not what is best for this country. Cursing those who are fed up with high taxes and want relief?? Cursing those who oppose big intrusive govt.?? I pay my taxes willingly and gladly. I like driving on asphalt roads and seeing trees and flowers on the sides of them. I like getting mail. I like having a police officer/fireman available if I need one. I like street lights and signal lights. I like sewage disposal and trash disposal. I like libraries. I like having government regulation on my food products and employers. Etc.... So my government is doing what is suppose to because I have all that and more. Have a problem with taxes, don't pay the damn things then. Illegals are a problem and many presidents before Obama helped to create the problem. He cannot solve it in one second. It will take a while. So yes I believe I know what is good for this country. And I will continue to fight for it. |
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I don't label everyone racists, bigots and haters. I label racist, bigoted and hating ideology what it is. This country being founded by racists, has a problem in that area to this day. It should be a fight all Americans are willing to fight. Have you ever read the original Constitution? I suggest you do so and then we will be on the same page here. |
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I love my country. But as with all humans it has room for improvement. I will continue to try to help improve the country that I love. Then I challenge you to start by renouncing Obama and his policies ... Not. Because that is not what is best for this country. Perhaps, then, you will be so kind as to inform all of us lowly peasants 'n peons who are too illiterate to separate the intellectual 'wheat' from the 'chaff' exactly what IS 'best for this country' ... so far, you've demonstrated with your position statements that you've thrown your support behind the Communists ... |
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