Immigrant agricultural workers forgo visits to family in Mexico

YAKIMA – It will be a cold Christmas this year for Francisco Navarro and his family.

The 53-year-old has lived in Central Washington for three decades, but he’s spent most Decembers down in sunny Mexico, relaxing with old friends in Colima state and hitting the beaches along the Pacific coast.

“We did plan to go back this year, like always,” said Navarro, who has been out of work for the past four months. “But with the economic situation being like it is, we just can’t afford to make the trip.”

So they’ll be spending Christmas in Yakima this year. And they’re not alone.

Mexican immigrant families throughout Yakima say they’re feeling the pinch of the national recession, which to them has meant less-consistent work in agriculture than in years past.

As a result, local Hispanic leaders say, the traditional return trip to Mexico – to visit relatives, celebrate the holidays with warm atole and tamales and maintain the cultural connection with the home country – during the agriculture off-season is an economic impossibility for many.

“It seems like so many people were unemployed this year,” said Nestor Hernandez, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Yakima. “If they’re not staying in Yakima for Christmas because they’re here illegally, then they’re staying because they can’t afford it.”

Hernandez, who makes a living as a real estate agent, said business wasn’t as good as in previous years, so he won’t be making the trip to his native state of Oaxaca either.

The Mexican government projects no change in the number of visits over the Christmas holidays – about 1.2 million – when compared to the same period last year. And that’s abnormal.

“Our data tells us we’re going to finish this year with very few more visits than we had last year, which is unusual because usually we see substantial increases,” said Alejandro Orbezo, a representative for Programa Paisano, an agency created 20 years ago to ease return trips for Mexicans living in the United States.

“The principal cause is the recession – more than anything, because people don’t want to spend the money on the trip.”

That’s what Veronica Aguirre, 34, says will keep her family from returning to Mexico this December. The Jalisco native works two jobs – at a fruit warehouse and performing day care – and lives in a modest rental in Yakima.

“Work just hasn’t been the same this year,” she said. “My husband and I have struggled to find employment. We just weren’t able to set aside the money all year like we’ve always done. Maybe next year it will be possible.”

The situation is more extreme in Michoacan state, where government officials predict a 30 percent drop in return visits this year due in part to the economy – but also because of the cartel-related violence that has become common there.

“There’s this perception of insecurity,” Orbezo said. “We’re not denying that there is a problem there, but the majority of the problems don’t affect your average person … The violence is between the cartels and against the government.”

In the Yakima Valley, more Mexican immigrants come from Michoacan than any other state. Because so many immigrants are here illegally, it’s impossible to say how many live in the Yakima Valley and what state in Mexico they are from. However, the most recent U.S. Census estimates that more than 17 percent of Yakima County residents are foreign born, a majority being from Mexico.

Joaquin Velazquez, 50, said the violence in his home state made him think twice before buying plane tickets home for himself and his two grandchildren.

“It’s not that I’m afraid, I’m not,” said Velazquez, an agricultural worker who has lived in Yakima for 16 years. “But all that cartel presence is a bit of a deterrent.”

He said the biggest mark against returning home is the cost – about $1,000 per person, regardless of mode of transportation.

“We’re choosing to fly this year so we can avoid getting hit up for bribes by federal and state and local cops all the drive down (through Mexico),” Velazquez said. “When the cops see that you have U.S. license plates, they’ll pull you over. And if you add up $100 here and $100 there, you might as well fly and save yourself the money and hassle.”

During last year’s Christmas holidays, about 300 complaints – mostly about government officials demanding bribes – were filed with Programa Paisano, said Orbezo.

This year, his agency has made it easier for visitors to report problems – and changed policies to allow visitors to come to Mexico with more money and material gifts.

“For a long time we’ve known that Mexicans living in the United States are a huge source of economic support for their families in Mexico, from the remittances they send to the gifts and money they take when they visit,” Orbezo said. “So we want to urge our countrymen in the United States to inform themselves of our new policies and programs so they feel secure in Mexico.

“And we’ll treat them well; we want to welcome them home.”