Arizona, a favorite entry point for undocumented migrants trying to sneak into the United States, has shut its door on illegal immigrants, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.
By making such move, Arizona has become a laboratory for whether a state can single-handedly combat illegal immigration, .
In recent years the state has barred illegal immigrants from receiving government services, from winning punitive damages in lawsuits and from posting bail for serious crimes, according to the paper.
The state has passed a new law which shuts down businesses that hire illegal workers and allows authorities to search for illegal street vendors or immigrants being smuggled through the county, said the paper.
That part of what's pushing immigrants out is the collapse of the state's housing-based economy. In the construction sector, which employs many immigrants, 10 percent of jobs have vanished over the last year as home prices have plunged, Economist Dawn McLaren of Arizona State University said in remarks published by the paper.
And businesses that cater to immigrants both legal and illegal report a huge drop in sales, increasing the drag on the state's already troubled economy, said the report.
Source: Xinhua
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