[Wallace T.]

A big portion of the outflow of illegals relates to the slowdown in the economy, which affects areas like construction and restaurants, where many are employed. California's real estate slowdown started several months earlier than the rest of the country. Economic slowdowns and recessions lead to people eating out less and mowing their own lawns. Add to that the drying up of mortgage money and banks lending to home builders, and going north suddenly becomes less appealing.

[garbanzo]

A big portion of the outflow of illegals relates to the slowdown in the economy, which affects areas like construction and restaurants, where many are employed.

It's a chicken and egg thing. Our economic system was so unstable and complex, even fairly small changes in it get amplified and lead to cascade failure.