“But that money has to be sent back home; my mom depends on it for her medicine, for their food, to pay their bills, basically everything.” *
By Perla Trevizo
Some local money-transfer businesses are reporting a slowdown in the amount of dollars sent by immigrants back to their home countries, mirroring a nationwide trend.
“They come as often as usual, but they send less money,” Mario Espinoza, owner of Carniceria La Michoacana, a Mexican store in Dalton, Ga., said in Spanish. “If there’s no work, how are they going to keep sending money?”
Mr. Espinoza, whose clients are mostly Mexicans and Guatemalans, said he believes people are sending less money home because they are having a more difficult time finding jobs due to tougher immigration laws.
Georgia implemented an immigration law this summer that is considered by many advocates to be one of the toughest in the nation.
Among other things, it asks for proof of legal presence in the United States in order to receive public health benefits, requires employers to verify the immigration status of new workers, and authorizes checks of the status of people arrested on felony or DUI charges.
According to a survey released in August by the Inter-American Development Bank and a report by the Bank of Mexico, a lower percentage of immigrants from Mexico are sending money — known as remittances — to their homes from the United States.
The percentage of Mexicans who send money regularly decreased from 71 percent in 2006 to 64 percent in the first half of 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank reported.
*Mexico is a treasure trove of natural resources and two coastlines.