Study: Fewer illegals in U.S.

By Juan Antonio Lizama, Media General News Service
Published: October 2, 2008

RICHMOND — The number of illegal immigrants in the United States appears to have declined by about a half-million compared with last year, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study.

“This is a population that has been growing rapidly for at least 15 years, and it has come to a halt in 2008,“ said Jeffrey S. Passel, senior demographer with the Washington-based center, which released the study Thursday. Overall, the number of illegal immigrants has increased about 40 percent in the past eight years, the study showed.

The illegal-immigrant population fell to 11.9 million in March from 12.4 million in March of last year, though authors of the study cautioned that the decline is within the margin of error.

The decrease in the population could have a number of causes, including a weak economy and stepped-up enforcement by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is deporting record numbers of illegal immigrants.

The study did not include data on the number of illegal immigrants in Virginia, but three years ago, the center estimated the number at 250,000 to 300,000.

Michel Zajur, president of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said he’s seen the impact locally.

“Hearing about these raids and the uncertainly, I think it does chase people out to other areas of the country or to other countries,“ he said.

Oscar Contreras, a disc jockey at WBTK 1380 AM, the Spanish-language Christian radio station in Richmond, said he’s aware of people being deported from the area. His radio station sponsors monthly prayer vigils in churches on immigration issues such as changing laws and stopping raids.

Diana Lemus, owner of Happy Mart on Hull Street Road in South Richmond, said such businesses as hers that cater to Hispanics have seen a decline in sales. She also believes the cause is a combination of a slowed economy and the stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws.

“I suppose that many people are being more cautious about spending their money because they can be deported at any moment,“ she said.

The study also found that since 2005, the inflow of illegal immigrants has fallen below that of incoming legal immigrants, reversing the trend from a decade ago. Of about 39 million immigrants in the country, about 30 percent are illegal.

The General Assembly saw a record number of legislative proposals this year dealing with illegal immigration.

Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, R-Prince William, who has introduced legislation to deal with illegal immigration, said that fewer illegal immigrants coming in and more going out of the country is a good thing.

His county is one of the most aggressive in the nation in illegal-immigration policy, denying some county services to illegal immigrants and requiring police officers to investigate the immigration status of someone arrested for a serious or minor offense when there is probable cause to think that the person is in the country illegally.

“But not all localities in Virginia and around the country have that approach,“ Frederick, who is also chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said. “In fact, some places throughout the country are sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.“

Juan Antonio Lizama is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.