More News On Arizona

A couple of interesting developments in Arizona.

First, the Arizona state legislature has started work on legislation that would target the children of undocumented immigrants.

Traditionally anyone born on United States soil is automatically a citizen.

However according to Time magazine, the Arizona state legislature is working on a law designed "to make the citizenship process so difficult that illegal immigrants pull up their anchors and leave." The full Time article is here.

The second important development is a growing acceptance that SB1070 is going to have a negative economic impact on Arizona.

The Arizona Republic has published an article on the possibly devastating impact that a mass migration of immigrants would have on the already fragile housing industry.  The full article can be read here. An excerpt is below.

An exodus of people - both legal and illegal residents - could be one more drag on a housing-market recovery. Departures from a state where growth is the economic foundation could add to the number of foreclosures and vacant houses and apartments, all of which will hurt the housing industry just as signs of recovery are starting to appear.

Driving illegal immigrants out of Arizona is one stated purpose of the new immigration law. But the law, experts say, could also drive out legal residents and deter potential new residents - people who are afraid of what might happen to them or who simply object to the law.

Undocumented Immigrants have long been home buyers in Arizona. As the total cost to the state continues to rise, members of the real estate business community find the passage of the law puzzling at a time when the economy of the state is so fragile.

"Many people in real estate operated with a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy when it came to certain homebuyers and borrowers. We didn't feel like it was our job to be an enforcement agency," said Margie O'Campo de Castillo, a Phoenix real-estate agent. "I always tell people if they aren't legally here, it may not be in their best interest to buy a home. But it's not my decision."

She is trying to help a friend who owns a small business and who had a Phoenix home but is not a legal U.S. resident.

"He never missed a payment, but his business has slowed down," O'Campo said. "He found a buyer to do a short sale on his home, but his lender wouldn't work with him because he isn't here legally. He lost his house to foreclosure."