latiNOhoosier

AMES, Iowa — In many parts of the country, the idea that all illegal immigrants should be arrested and deported is popular, but in the wake of the Postville and Marshalltown raids, perhaps the solution isn’t as simple as it may seem. If this plan were enacted, there would be serious social and economic impacts in many communities across the nation, according to Liesl Eathington, coordinator of Iowa State University’s Regional Capacity Analysis Program (ReCAP). “I think there is a misconception in many communities that these immigrants are taking American dollars and sending it all back home,” Eathington said. “This really isn’t the case, because these people still pay sales taxes, rent and buy food. In some towns, they make up a significant percent of revenue that goes back into the community.”

This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 10:35 pm and is filed under Midwest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.