What if Mexican labor supply dries up?

Does the slumping economy present the perfect time to purge the country of illegal aliens. Not so fast, my friend. Check out this iinteresting read here about the politic dynamics of the immigration debate from columnist Thomas D. Elias. Here is a telling excerpt:


Illegal immigrant Mexican workers are leaving this country in droves, crossing the border north to south and going back home. Some are already coming back because things are even tougher in Mexico, but so far, not most.
The reasons are many, including increased enforcement activity against American employers who hire illegals and more cooperation from local police in various parts of this country.
But economics are the main reason immigrants are leaving. As more companies cut budgets and banks foreclose on many thousands of homes, employment opportunities for unskilled illegal immigrants have diminished.
Over the last 18 months, according to Carlos Flores Vizcarra, the Mexican consul general in Phoenix, more than 2 million Mexican immigrants have returned home because of diminished opportunities here. That amounts to about 10 percent to 12 percent of all illegals who were in this country two years ago.
It may be the realization of a fantasy for the anti-immigration lobby, but it also might be a hint of a nightmare to come for other people and businesses. For one thing, farmers in many parts of America complained both of the last two years of a labor shortage. Whether or not it's coincidence, the prices of many foodstuffs rose steeply during that time and they're still going up.