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The country as a whole is seeing a mass exodus of illegal immigrants, but are these immigrants leaving Utah as well? Some groups are, but others are not.
In a recent Spanish radio talk show in Utah, one of the topics became, "Why are illegal immigrants leaving the country so quickly?" The Center for Immigration Studies says 1.3 million illegal immigrants have left the country since last year.
Tony Yapias with Proyecto Latino de Utah said, "A lot of families are afraid that one of the spouses is going to get arrested and that just disrupts the whole family."
Yapias says this fear, along with the pressures of living in the country illegally, are becoming too much to bear for some immigrants. He says he's getting calls from people in Mexico saying they don't want to risk crossing the border.
"Rightly so. I mean, we see enforcement has stepped up in great numbers," he said.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agencies say there have been more than 235,000 formal removals and voluntary returns already this fiscal year, which is more than they had in the entire fiscal year of 2006. Plus, Yapias says Latino businesses are feeling the economic downfall like everyone else.
"They're saying their business has come down also, so they're not seeing as much traffic," he said.
But the immigrants leaving Utah to return to their homelands seem to be mostly from South American countries. Mexican nationals living in Utah appear to be staying put.
Salt Lake City Mexican Consulate Acting Consul Eusebio Romero said, "Maybe in other states, maybe in Arizona or states that are very hostile for immigrants, maybe that could be the situation. But here in Utah, I don't see it and don't foresee that situation."
But Romero says they are noticing more people asking for the proper papers to be in the country legally.
"It's year-round. There is not a seasonal [demand]. We see the same people asking for the documents all the weeks of the year," he said.
Romero says the consulate has been emphasizing the importance of not using fake names and documents.
"Please don't use fake papers because it's a federal crime," he said.
Some Latino advocates say many illegal immigrants use to consider using forged documents and someone else's Social Security number as not that big of a deal, but that is changing.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
