Be Careful What You Wish For, For You May Get What You Deserve.
[A] lot has changed in Riverside since local officials passed a controversial ordinance last summer to help deal with – some say crack down on – the thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Brazilians, who have flooded in and around this Burlington County town of 8,000 over the last six or seven years.
Because the law, which bans hiring or renting housing to illegals, is being challenged in state and federal court, it is not being enforced. But even so, the sentiment behind it and uproar surrounding it have been enough to chase out many of the Brazilians.
[snip]
Of the 2,000 to 3,000 Brazilians that officials once estimated lived within the town, many locals guess about half – some say just hundreds – remain. And those who stayed are laying low.
Quantifying the exodus is hard. Feeling its effect is not.
“For Rent” signs dot the town. Downtown sidewalks that once were filled with immigrant shoppers have emptied. Stores have shuttered, and many of those left are suffering.
Many in Riverside, like Paulette Stoer, are thrilled the Brazilians have, as she said, “cleared out.”
“If you can come over here and be legal and learn English, fine,” she said, “but don’t come over here illegally and take money out of my pockets.”
Others say the town got what it wished for – and is now paying a hefty price.
“This town is dying without the Brazilians, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying,” said Marge Brown, who works at R&B Laundromat on Pavilion Avenue.
[snip]
A “For Rent” sign adorns the empty front window of Bella Boutique, which used to be filled with bright designs from Brazil. Luis Ordonez, an immigrant from Ecuador, has closed G&I Amigos on Scott Street, where immigrant men used to line up to send cash earned on local construction sites to homes thousands of miles away. Across the way, a relative has shuttered the shop she opened to cater to the Brazilians. And although the owner of Foster’s Hardware was getting ready to retire anyway, fellow shop owners say the immigrants’ departure precipitated his.
Many of those left, meanwhile, say they’re feeling the pinch. A.J. Patel at Jack’s Liquors says business is down 15 percent to 20 percent. And Bruce Behmke, who owns R&B Laundromat, said business would be down 40 percent if a nearby competitor hadn’t closed.
“We’re dead. Dead, dead, dead,” said Ed Robins, who owns Riverside Arts Guild and Scott Street Music, shaking his head. “I’m lucky if I’m making minimum wage. I feel like I’m pushing a big truck uphill.”
Unlike many locals, he said, the Brazilians spent their money in town.
“If they needed something, they’d go to you first,” he said. “It didn’t matter if it cost a couple of dollars more.”
It’s like a real-life A Day Without a Mexican.
You’ll pardon me if I don’t shed a tear for the good citizens of Riverside and their fool mayor, George Conard, who now admits “I don’t think we knew a lot of what we were doing at that time.” Gee, ya think?
I understand that the immigration issue is pretty complex, and I’m hesitant to make any blanket statements on the subject, but passing “no rent” ordinances like Riverside did is just plain stupid. Thus, it gives me a great deal of pleasure to see Riverside reap the fruit of its poison seed.
