By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
Illegal immigrants in the Princeton area may be shielded from the full brunt of the economic downturn, due to nature of their employment, but many are still feeling its effects, according to immigration experts.
Obtaining specific numbers on small populations of immigrants like those living in Princeton is difficult, but the national trend in illegal immigration since the start of the economic downturn is clear.
Findings of a Pew Hispanic Center study released in October support the notion of a significant decline in the number of immigrants entering the country in recent years, a trend that has accelerated with the economic downturn.
Annual growth of the total U.S. illegal immigrant population has slowed significantly since 2005, “with a substantially smaller number arriving since 2007,” according to the study. It states that from 2000 to 2004 inflows of illegal immigrants averaged 800,000 a year, while from 2005 to 2008 the number dropped to 500,000, with the most significant decline beginning in 2007.
The study did not go into state trends, although a report published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2007 puts the total number of illegal immigrants living in New Jersey at 470,000, up from 350,000 in 2000.
Extrapolating national trends like these to a small area like Princeton is difficult due to a lack of concrete statistics, but people working on immigrant issues in Princeton say the area’s sizable immigrant population is surely affected.
However, the impact may be less than elsewhere.
Maria Juega, the chairwoman of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, is constantly working with immigrants in the Princeton area.
She said that the immigrant community in Princeton works mainly in the restaurant and hospitality industry and has not felt the economic impact of some immigrant populations, such as those working in the hard-hit construction industry.
”At least in Princeton (the community) is holding its own,” Ms. Juega said.
In other nearby areas, like Trenton, immigrants have fared worse, she said.
They tend to work in the formerly booming construction trades that have faltered since the demand for homes and home prices have bottomed out, resulting in little work and shorter hours, but in Princeton, such effects have not been as pronounced, Mr. Juega said.
”Not too many work in the construction business,” she said.
But that doesn’t mean the total absence of adverse economic conditions.
Princeton’s immigrants are seeing fewer hours at restaurants, hotels, and other establishments and are being forced to adjust to a decline in income, according to Ms. Juega. She said they are no longer making significant income from working overtime hours.
Princeton University professor and immigration advocate David Abalos said that nationally there are fewer Latin American immigrants coming to work in the U.S. Also, those already in the U.S. are working fewer hours and sending less money home, and that Princeton immigrants are likely feeling the same effects.
”There is an impact on their families,” said Mr. Abalos. “The amount of remittances is considerably lower.”
Nationally, the economic conditions are also having other impacts on immigrants besides those affecting their wallets, Mr. Abalos said.
”There is more of a sense of hostility here, in terms of undocumented workers,” he said.
He said when economic times get tough, like the present, people tend to look for scapegoats and begin blaming immigrants for the scarcity of work and depressed wages.
Mr. Abalos also lamented the lack of a substantive discussion on immigration during the presidential campaign, although he said he understood why the candidates kept away from immigration as a major campaign issue.
”That’s because both McCain and Obama have had a pretty open view towards immigrants,” said Mr. Abalos. “They don’t want that to become an issue.”

