Beefed-Up Border Patrol May Keep Illegal Immigrants in U.S., Study Says

The illegal immigrants here can't leave to spend time with their families or work in their home countries, because they are afraid of being caught when they come back in. Sometimes they don't have work here in the winter months and still can't leave. DP
Debate Continues on Dealing With Migrant Mexican Workers

By BILL REDEKER, ABC News

ABC News: PARK CITY, Utah, March 8, 2006 — There is a building and buying boom in this ski town that rivals Vail's 22 years ago. Real estate agents report sales of $60 million worth of homes and condominiums every week. That's not bad for a town with a permanent population of 7,000.

Out-of-state businessmen looking for a second home are driving the expansion, and migrant laborers are helping build it. The Hispanic population of northern Utah has grown markedly in recent years, and now there are signs that those who may be here illegally won't return home even if they want to.

A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center finds that many who come to the United States illegally are afraid to return to Mexico and Central America because of beefed-up security along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Once they come in, they are actually reluctant to leave," said Jeffrey Passel, the study's author.

Increased border patrols are having an unexpected effect, keeping many from returning across the border. "The border patrol is actually helping to keep people in the United States, rather than out," Passel said.
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