Burning Atlanta

Already struggling with blight, the Reed Park area near Gilbert and Broadway roads is taking another hit as undocumented immigrants leave the neighborhood, pressured by the state's employer-sanctions law, stricter immigration enforcement and a sagging economy.

There is no reliable data on just how many immigrants have left Mesa in the past year, but there are other indicators: vacant houses and apartments, a sharp drop in business at stores that cater to Latinos, and a decline in attendance at churches and schools.

"From what you hear in the neighborhood, people have packed up and left and have gone to other states, or have gone back home to their country," said Cynthia Garza, a city Neighborhood Outreach coordinator.

"We have seen more and more vacant homes."

Annabel Wright is feeling the same pinch. Less than a mile from the restaurant, she runs Eagle Immigration, where she prepares legal documents for immigrants. Wright said she has lost 70 percent of her business since last winter because of random sweeps by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

"People are very scared," she said. "They think (Sheriff Joe) Arpaio is coming."

"I already closed one store," Kirakosian said. "I am about to close the laundry mat. I owe a big mortgage on the shopping center. I'm giving it till December. I've never been impacted like this before."

Kirakosian said he couldn't afford to pay for his children to attend a private school this year and that he is behind on his mortgage payments.

"The city councilman comes by and asks us what he can do to improve the area," he said, "and we keep telling him he's got to protect us from the sheriff and immigration because those are the people we cater to right now. Nobody listens."

"If the sheriff gets (re-)elected, we're afraid more people are going to leave." Oh, cry me a river. You built a business on illegal aliens and now that they're leaving you're whining about it? I have not an iota of sympathy anymore than I would for someone whose business catered to drug dealers and street walkers.

But Eduardo Celaya, 55, who is impeccably dressed on a Sunday morning at Queen of Peace, doesn't plan to move anytime soon. A permanent resident, he is in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. He has lived in Arizona for 13 years, and he and his wife have watched their children graduate from high school and college.

Celaya is proud of his 19-year-old son, who has special needs and recently graduated from high school. He would not have had a similar opportunity in Mexico, he said.

"This is something that I thank this country for," Celaya said. "I still have hope and I am grateful to this country and to God to be here." That's the way to do it, LEGALLY.