Alabama official: Our immigration law is leading illegals to "self-deport"

On Monday, for example, the Wayne Farms chicken-processing plant in Marshall County held a jobs fair to fill slots that opened when many Hispanic workers left the county. The line “was probably equivalent to a couple of blocks … It was a largely Anglo and black group,” but also included Hispanics, said Ellis.

“It is tough work, very tough … my momma did it for a while, I’ve had friends who did it,” said Ellis, who also works as a local sheriff.

The new reform measures are also reducing classroom crowding in the 4,000-student school district, said Ellis. Roughly 150 kids of migrant workers have departed the district, and perhaps 500 more will leave as enforcement continues, he said. “It is tough on those kids,” but their departure will free up teachers to work with other Hispanic kids that need to learn English, he said.

“A large proportion of the illegal Hispanic community has moved … self-deportation is a real thing,” said Ellis. Because of the exodus, the county’s unemployment rate has dropped to from about 9.5 percent to roughly 9.3 percent over the last several weeks, he said.