VA: Prince William County Feeling the Immigration Crackdown Effect

PW County Feeling the Immigration Crackdown Effect

   posted 5:23 pm Mon March 03, 2008 -

Neighborhoods and businesses have been affected by the immigration crackdown for months before the law took effect.

There was urgency in the blinking open sign at Carmen Estrada's beauty salon Monday, at 2:15 in the afternoon, she had a total of three clients for the day. Estrada's clients, mostly immigrants say they're done with living in the area, "They come here and say, it's the last time coming here, I have to go from here," Estrada said.

Estrada said, her customers started leaving when the county started talking about its new immigration policy and now she estimates 70 percent of her business is gone.

"I don't know how to pay the rent, it's very hard," Estrada said, "I have to sell this shop, but it's not easy to sell."

No one knows that more than real estate agent Gohar Ihsan.

When asked when the last time Ihsan sold a house, his response was gloomy, "January," he said.

Three months since a closing, due in part to a real estate market that's soft everywhere and due in part to immigrants moving to places where they believe they will be more welcome.

"They were living here, they had businesses, family, had to leave everything and start all over again. I think it's too bad for those people," said Ihsan.

In Manassas, a restaurant owner said, business is off 50 percent. At the Mexico Lindo Market, the parking lot is only half-full. The staff's cut in half too. No one seems to know how many people are leaving, though many worry they may be forced to follow.

It's still unclear what the business cost of this migrating population could be, although here's one clue, Prince William County has proposed a 28 percent property tax increase this year to help cover a budget shortfall and the cost of the immigration crackdown.