Sanctions law may strain San Luis Rio Colorado

SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. - The mayor here says he expects Arizona's employer sanctions law to cause large-scale repatriations of illegal immigrants that will strain the social services of his city.

Mayor Ruben Espino says the city will need financial assistance from Mexico's federal government to handle the influx of immigrants, who sometimes remain homeless in cities across the border from the United States after their deportations.

The Arizona law, which took effect Jan. 1, penalizes employers for hiring workers without first verifying whether they are U.S. citizens or legal residents of the United States. Espino and officials of other Sonoran border cities have predicted it will cause a reverse wave of immigrants.
The prospect of the law has officials in San Luis Rio Colorado weighing the option of establishing a city-run assistance center for repatriated immigrants or allocating city funds for the city's existing Casa del Migrante, an immigrant shelter also under city jurisdiction, Espino said.