Good, Bad, or a Double-Edged Sword

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Many small midwestern towns have found that they are slowly dying as young people move away and few new people have moved in. For some areas in Kansas and other midwestern states, this trend is now reversing. New families are moving in and no homes are standing abandoned. New businesses are opening. Classrooms are full. These towns are booming. The cause for the turn around - Hispanics are moving into these small towns in droves. They want a quieter small town to live in and work in and raise their families away from the big cities. This is good for the towns. They are no longer dying. But, the potential problem is that many of the Hispanics that are moving there were born in Mexico. If these Hispanics are in the US legally, this is not a problem. They will be here for a long time to come and so will their children. The problem is that if these immigrants are here illegally, this boom could disappear in a flash. Many states are enacting laws to make if harder for illegal immigrants to stay here and President Obama's administration has deported more illegal immigrants than any other past administration. When similar laws come to these states, the immigrants who are there illegally will just walk away looking for an easier place to live under the radar. They will also all leave in a very short period of time (as was evidenced in the recent illegal immigrant departures from Alabama). If these samll towns are dependant upon illegal immigrants, they will not be facing a slow death; but, a very rapid one. These towns would be advised that the best policy is to continue to attract immigrants; but, let it be known that only ones who are in the country legally need come.