When Diego Quiñones was young, frustrated by the long hours he worked at his immigrant family’s job, he once kicked a bucket in protest. He now admits his efforts were worth it. When he toured his family’s wooden pallet factory near Bentonville, Arkansas, he smiled with pride at how business was booming.
Mr. Quiñones immigrated to the United States from Mexico with his mother and siblings in 1997, two years after his father. Most of them entered the country illegally. His father is still undocumented. Like other immigrants, the family settled in a part of Arkansas where Walmart is headquartered and poultry farming is booming. They joke that the pallets used in these local industries are as popular in Bentonville as tortillas are in Mexico, so they started making pallets. As the area grew, so did the pallet business.
No one knows how many immigrants from Arkansas like Quiñones’ family came here without documents. But former President Donald J. Trump’s party platform promises “the largest deportation effort in American history” nationwide. Some worry about what the deportations will mean for Northwest Arkansas workers and the businesses that depend on them.
Northwest Arkansas was ranked the 15th fastest growing region in the nation last year, with much of its population growth coming from immigrant workers. According to the 1990 census, the area was 95% white. By 2021, this number had fallen to nearly 71%. Springdale, where Tyson Foods is based, is now nearly 40 percent Hispanic.
Diego Quiñones runs his family’s pallet business.
Trump has provided few details about his plans for mass deportation, but Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance said during the vice presidential debate that he would start by deporting about 1 million people with non-immigration criminal convictions. said. illegally.
Immigration experts say there are many obstacles to implementing Trump’s plan, including the country’s large population. The American Immigration Council, a nonprofit advocacy group, estimates that the country was home to 11 million undocumented immigrants in 2022. Mass deportations could cost about $88 billion a year over about 10 years. Congress would need to find the funding to carry out 1 million arrests, including hiring at least 31,000 immigration officers, according to Congressional researchers. The legal system is already overwhelmed, with nearly 4 million cases winding their way through the courts, with litigation often taking two to six years.
Even with these logistical hurdles, the fear of mass deportation still stokes fear in many people. Quiñones’ mother obtained permanent resident status in 2021. He and his sister are participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation.
“‘We’re going to get 5 million immigrants,’ is a common selling point for bases,” said Quiñones, 35. It seems counterproductive. ”
Asian Amigo Supermarket in Rogers, Arkansas.
The influx of immigrants to Northwest Arkansas has led to a thriving local business ecosystem. Downtown Springdale is dotted with Mexican restaurants, and the school system is 45 percent Hispanic. The city hosts an annual festival called ArkanSalsa Fest. Last year, it was announced that Arkansas was planning to welcome a professional soccer team, Ozark United FC, but the team’s co-founders believe the area’s growing population and large Hispanic community present an opportunity. He said he felt that way.
Many economists have focused on the question of how immigration affects the labor market. The answers that emerge are layered. Research shows that immigrants often create jobs by increasing demand for food, cars, and services. Economists studied the impact of 400,000 illegal immigrant deportations between 2008 and 2013 and found that for every 100 people removed from the labor market due to deportation, a U.S.-born worker It was found that the number of jobs will decrease by 9.
Illegal immigrants also take on jobs that native-born workers rely on but are unwilling to do themselves, in fields such as child care, construction, and agriculture, at least for the wages they are offered. But other studies have shown that this could negatively impact wages for some U.S.-born workers, such as high school dropouts.
The short-term effects of sudden mass deportations can be shocking. After nearly 400 workers were arrested in a raid at an Iowa meat processing plant in 2008, the local economy suffered, with plants filing for bankruptcy and small businesses closing.
People riding bicycles in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. Northwest Arkansas is the 15th fastest growing region in the nation, and much of its population growth is driven by immigrant workers.
Chase Castor of the New York Times
Some business leaders in Arkansas are outspoken about the potential economic and workforce problems that could arise from mass deportations.
“It’s definitely going to cause confusion and anxiety,” said Nelson Peacock, who heads the Northwest Arkansas Council, which was created by major employers like Walmart and Tyson to spur economic development.
Sitting in a coffee shop in Fayetteville, Ark., Peacock said his organization is working to help local employers provide legal support for immigrant workers, especially those who cannot fill out forms in English or pay attorney fees. He said he would like to start a program to help people secure services.
Peacock has been watching with alarm the tense national debate over the immigrant community in Springfield, Ohio, which Vance said is “overwhelmed” by Haitian newcomers.
“We have no idea that people are being evacuated,” Peacock said. “In fact, we have 11,000 job openings.”
Peacock said in Northwest Arkansas, people tend to recognize how dependent the local economy is on immigrant workers, but he doesn’t think that will stop people from supporting Trump. .
“I don’t know if it will affect how people vote,” he added.