A new survey of immigrants shows fewer are sending money home, and many
cite increased difficulties in finding well-paying jobs and mounting
discrimination.
Posted on Thu, May. 01, 2008
BY JANE BUSSEY
jbussey@MiamiHerald.com
Serafín Durán, a 40-year-old Mexican living in Homestead, can pinpoint
the moment when the U.S. economy started to turn sour: his hours were
cut back and he had to reduce the money he sends his parents in the
Mexican state of Veracruz.
''One day, I called my father and I told him: `It pains me deeply, but I
can't send money today and I won't be able to tomorrow, either,''' said
Durán.
The dilemma facing Durán mirrors the findings of the 2008 International
Development Bank ''Survey of Remittances from the United States to Latin
America,'' which was released Wednesday. The economic slowdown,
especially in the construction sector, and growing anti-immigration
sentiment have prompted many immigrants to reduce their remittances or
stop sending money to their families in Latin America, the poll found.
The survey forecasts remittances to Latin America will be virtually
stagnant this year, with the total expected to reach $45.9 billion, a
scant increase over the $45.4 billion in 2006 -- and could begin to
decline for the first time in about a decade.
Any decline in remittances from the United States would spell major
trouble for Latin American economies and some of the hemisphere's
poorest families, who have grown increasingly dependent on these money
transfers.
Among other major findings of the study, which surveyed 5,000 adults
from across the United States in February and was conducted by the Coral
Gables polling firm Bendixen & Associates:
• Some 81 percent of those polled said it was more difficult to find a
good-paying job.
• The number of immigrants who consider discrimination a major problem
has risen from 37 percent in August 2001 to 68 percent in February.
• About 28 percent said they were planning to return to their home
country in the next few years; 40 percent to be with their family or in
their country; 27 percent because of the economy and 17 percent because
of discrimination or legal status.
• Perhaps most significantly, the number of Latin Americans sending
remittances to their homeland has dropped from three out of four to just
two out of four in two years. But the survey also found that those who
do send money home, now send more, an average of $325 per remittance
compared to $300 in 2006. They also have increased the frequency of
their remittances from 12 times a year to 15.
''Something very, very powerful happened in those two years. This could
have tremendous impact,'' said Sergio Bendixen, president of the polling
firm, which specializes in Hispanic public opinion.
The findings did not include immigrants from Cuba, Haiti or the
English-speaking Caribbean. But experts say Haiti and other countries
are starting to feel the effects too. Washington also imposed stricter
rules on sending remittances to Cuba in 2004.
''What we see is Latinos having two pressures,'' said Donald F. Terry,
manager of the Multilateral Investment Fund at the IDB. ``No. 1 is the
downturn of the economy, but in some ways even more important [are] the
anti-immigration attitudes that have become more prevalent in the United
States over the past year.''
Those who track remittances or support open immigration policies view
the trends with alarm.
''If this is not reversed, it will have substantial consequences,
driving up poverty rates in Latin America, especially in Mexico,'' Terry
said.
But proponents of stricter immigration enforcement say both the slower
growth in remittances and immigrants' growing desire to return home show
that the policies tightening what was once a virtual open door to
immigration are working.
''The main goal of immigration enforcement is to change the behavior of
illegal immigrants and get them to go home,'' said Mark Krikorian,
executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies., which
promotes immigration enforcement.
In interviews with The Miami Herald, a number of undocumented workers
living in Homestead said life changed for the worse after the Sept. 11,
2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
''I thought I would have opportunities [when I first arrived]; I got a
job in a daycare center and learned some English,'' said Luz González,
28, who came to the United States eight years ago from Mexico City.
``Then came the [World Trade] towers, then the pressure and then things
just collapsed.''
She was among a group of immigrants who gathered recently at WeCount!, a
nonprofit community worker center in Homestead.
González said she lost her full-time job about six months ago because
she has no legal papers and can find only part-time work now. Sending
even $50 a month to her aging parents is daunting.
Now, she said, she has only one choice -- return to Mexico. ''Maybe in
July. I just can't live on $150 a week,'' she said.
Others gathered at WeCount! recalled how easy it was to find well-paying
jobs until a year or so ago. Both José Delgado Soto, a 58-year-old
Mexican, and Carlos Gallego, 52, who came to the United States from
Colombia 26 years ago, said that with gasoline and food prices soaring,
finding jobs is tougher.
Until 18 months ago, Durán, who came to the United States 12 years ago
on a tourist visa and stayed, worked 12-hour days at a company that
supplies the construction industry. He earned about $4,000 a month and
sent as much as $650 to his family.
Now with the housing market in a slump, employers have cut hours, and he
earns half of his former salary.
''I am just trying to hold on as long as I can and hope things change,''
said Durán, who lives with his wife and three daughters.
Government numbers in Mexico, Durán's homeland, show remittances fell by
2.8 percent in the first two months of the year and have been below $2
billion a month for the past four months.
For years, rapidly growing remittances have funded Latin American
development and contributed to economic stability.
Improved economies in some Latin American countries also are encouraging
some immigrants to return.
Mexico, the largest source of illegal immigration to the United States,
created 800,000 jobs last year, compared to 500,000 in past years.
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