The Hispanic exodus from North Carolina

Christopher writes:

I wanted to write to tell you what I have witnessed here in North Carolina over the past several months. As I told you before, Hispanics have been moving to N.C. in droves for several years now. Where there were once few, now there are many. Since I have moved here, there has been a dramatic increase in them. This state has had a very robust job increase in recent years and that has brought them pouring in. However, since the economy’s bust a lot of jobs have vanished here. Factories have closed and the ones that remain have laid off workers by the hundreds in some cases. The state’s unemployment rate has jumped from two percent in 2000 to nearly 10 percent as of now. Since last summer I have seen fewer and fewer Hispanics. The last time I went to the clinic I didn’t see a single Mexican (a rarity). There are fewer seen shopping at the Wal-Mart as well. The lone Mexican food store on Hwy 90 has fewer cars in parking lot these days. It was even common to see them walking on the side of the road to work, etc.

I have also heard anecdotal stories from people. The person that cuts my hair told me that somebody who knows several Mexicans said that “they were all leaving.” There was a young girl dating a Mexican boy and the boy used to have a Mexican girlfriend with a baby (not his). The ex-girlfriend went home to Mexico with the baby. The Mexican boy left his white girlfriend to go back to Mexico to visit his sick grandmother but then called her and told her he was not coming back. These anecdotes come from people who know these people personally. There is no doubt they are leaving. When my county announced they were stopping welfare benefits to non-citizens I also noticed a decrease in their numbers.

While I hate to say this, I think we NEED this downturn in the economy. It couldn’t have come at a more opportune time to be frank. At the very least it will buy some time I hope. Sadly, it won’t eliminate the problem because if our economy recovers at all, they will return no doubt. I am still grasping at straws of hope maybe, but I have to do that …

- end of initial entry -

May 18

Karl D. writes:

As fate would have it my landlady hired a Mexican (illegal I assume) to do some landscaping on the property (I live in New York State). I was chatting with him and guess where he just came from? North Carolina. Why? No work and too expensive he said. There you have it.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 17, 2009 09:45 PM | Send