gaithersblog.net

Amanda Lee Myers writes in an AP wire story:

Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states.

For months, immigrants have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the state’s new employer-sanctions law, which takes effect Jan. 1. The voter-approved legislation is an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants in Arizona, the busiest crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border.

And by all appearances, it’s starting to work.

Do you suppose Maryland would be one of the "other states" in which they might try their luck?

This follows a Federal judge’s refusal to block the new law. Paul Davenport writes in another AP story, Judge Doesn’t Block Ariz. Employment Law:

A federal judge on Friday refused to block the Jan. 1 implementation of an Arizona law that penalizes businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants.

U.S. District Judge Neil Wake denied requests for a temporary restraining order or an emergency injunction to block the law from taking effect.

Wake said that those who would suffer the most from blocking the law would be legal low-skill workers who lose jobs and get depressed wages due to competition from illegal immigrants.

Update: I just noticed another story on this subject in the Arizona Republic:

Daniel González writes, Holiday visit to Mexico becomes one-way trip:

In what are considered bellwethers of permanent moves back to Mexico, the Mexican consulate in Phoenix has seen a dramatic increase in applications for Mexican birth certificates, passports and other documents that immigrants living in Arizona will need to return home.

In November alone, the consulate processed 240 applications for Mexican birth certificates, three times as many as the same month last year, said Carlos Flores Vizcarra, Mexican consul general of Phoenix.

The consulate also has processed more than 16,500 applications for Mexican passports this year, nearly twice as many as last year. Vizcarra attributed some of the demand for passports to stricter travel regulations among the U.S., Mexico and Canada slated to take effect in January. But he said many undocumented immigrants are applying for passports in case they lose their jobs due to the sanctions law or a slowdown in the economy and therefore want to go back and live in Mexico.

[Devo should note that my headline for this post was taken directly from the AP’s own headline for the initial story — assuming that Google doesn’t alter the headlines provided by the AP. FWIW, Yahoo’s copy of this story uses the same headline.]

Martin Weil reports in the Washington Post:

Employee Raped in Hotel Room

A hotel employee was raped yesterday in Gaithersburg when she entered a room to clean it, Montgomery County police said.

Police said the assailant fled after the attack at the Holiday Inn Gaithersburg on Montgomery Village Avenue.

He was described as an African American man between the age of 20 and 25, who was 5-foot-6 and weighed 140 to 150 pounds. He reportedly wore dark pants, a blue and white sweater and a black skullcap, police said. They said he was unshaven.

Channel 4 adds some details:

The rape happened about 9:45 a.m. at the hotel on Montgomery Village Avenue, police said.

The 50-year-old victim told police she was physically assaulted and raped in the room. After the attack, the man fled.

This incident is not listed on either the County or the City Police web pages.