Economic downturn in California prompts some immigrants to head home

Anna Gorman of the Los Angeles Times reports on how work shortages and labor cuts in California are prompting some migrants from Latin America to head back home -- preferring to at least be with their families if money promises to be short.

"With the ongoing economic downturn and the collapse of the construction industry, day laborers in California are feeling the effects. Now, some immigrant workers are choosing to go home rather than wait for a rebound.

"California's unemployment rate hit 7.3% last month, compared with 5.4% the previous July. The number of construction jobs dropped by 84,000 over the previous year, according to the state Employment Development Department," writes Gorman.

As the Pew Hispanic Center's labor report showed in June, the unemployment rate for Latinos in the U.S. rose to 6.5% in the first quarter of 2008 mainly because of the slump in the construction industry.

Meanwhile, California lawmakers approved giving college financial assistance to illegal immigrants over the weekend.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: Otoniel Lopez Cortez gets a hug from Jeronimo Salguero, director of the Carecen Day Labor Center in Los Angeles, during a send-off gathering. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[southoc]

California law makers are discriminating against US citizens who want to go to college. Just tell them you are illegal and you get free health care and college tuition. It pays to break laws in California.